^J^jNHfFPR^^ 


Logical  sEi*v^ 


BV    4226    .S63 

Spurgeon,  C.  H.  1834-1892 

The  art  of  illustration 


/ 


THE 

ART  OF  ILLUSTRATION 


*     NOV  23  1909 


^'a 


BY 


'diCSin, 


fi'ML  SEH^ 


V 


C.  H.  SPURGEON 


^ 


NEW-YORK 
WILBUR    B.   KETCHAM 

2  COOPER  UNION 


Copyright,  1894, 
By  Wilbur  B.  Ketcham. 


PUBLISHER'S  NOTE. 

The  lectures  in  this  volume  were  originally 
delivered  to  the  students  of  the  Pastors'  Col- 
lege, Metropolitan  Tabernacle,  London,  Eng- 
land. It  is  the  first  of  his  unfinished  books  to 
be  published,  and  one  to  which  he  had  himself 
given  the  title,  "  The  Art  of  Illustration." 

Of  the  five  lectures  included  in  this  volume, 
the  first  two  were  revised  during  Mr.  Spur- 
geon's  lifetime.  Two  were  partially  revised 
by  him  before  being  redelivered  to  a  later 
company  of  students  than  those  who  had  heard 
them  for  the  first  time. 

The  remaining  lecture  was  printed  substan- 
tially as  it  was  taken  by  the  reporter;  only 
such  verbal  corrections  having  been  made  as 
were  absolutely  necessary  to  insure  accuracy 
of  statement.  Mr.  Spurgeon  has  said  of  his 
lectures  to  his  students:  "I  am  as  much  at 
home  with  my  young  brethren  as  in  the  bosom 

3 


4  publisher's  note. 

of  my  family,  and  therefore  speak  without  re- 
straint. I  do  not  offer  that  which  has  cost  me 
nothing,  for  I  have  done  my  best,  and  taken 
abundant  pains.  Therefore,  with  clear  con- 
science, I  place  my  work  at  the  service  of  my 
brethren,  especially  hoping  to  have  a  careful 
reading  from  young  preachers,  whose  profiting 

has  been  my  principal  aim." 

W.  B.  K. 


CONTENTS. 


LECTURE  I. 

PAGE 

Illustrations  in  Preaching 7 


LECTURE  II. 
Anecdotes  from  the  Pulpit 32 

LECTURE  III. 
The  Uses  of  Anecdotes  and  Illustrations 57 

LECTURE   IV. 

Where  can  We  Find  Anecdotes  and  Illustrations?  103 

LECTURE  V. 

The  Sciences  as  Sources  of  Illustration — Astron- 
omy     137 


LECTURE  L 

ILLUSTRATIONS   IN   PREACHING. 

The  topic  now  before  us  is  the  use  of  illus- 
trations in  our  sermons.  Perhaps  we  shall 
best  subserve  our  purpose  by  working  out  an 
illustration  in  the  present  address;  for  there 
is  no  better  way  of  teaching  the  art  of  pottery 
than  by  making  a  pot.  Quaint  Thomas  Fuller 
says,  "  Reasons  are  the  pillars  of  the  fabric  of  ^ 
a  sermon;  but  similitudes  are  the  windows 
which  give  the  best  lights."  The  comparison 
is  happy  and  suggestive,  and  we  will  build  up 
our  discourse  under  its  direction. 

The  chief  reason  for  the  construction  of 
windows  in  a  house  is,  as  Fuller  says,  to  let  in 
light.  Parables,  similes,  and  metaphors  have 
that  effect ;  and  hence  we  use  them  to  illustrate 
our  subject,  or,  in  other  words,  to  "  brighten  it 
with  light,^^  for  that  is  Dr.  Johnson's  literal  ren- 
dering of  the  word  illustrate.  Often  when  di- 
dactic speech  fails  to  enlighten  our  hearers  we 
may  make  them  see  our  meaning  by  opening 
a  window  and  letting  in  the  pleasant  light  of 


8  THE  ART   OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

analogy.  Our  Saviour,  who  is  the  light  of  the 
world,  took  care  to  fill  his  speech  with  simili- 
tudes, so  that  the  common  people  heard  him 
gladly ;  his  example  stamps  with  high  author- 
it}^  the  practice  of  illuminating  heavenly  in- 
struction with  comparisons  and  similes.  To 
every  preacher  of  righteousness  as  well  as  to 
Noah,  wisdom  gives  the  command,  "A  window 
shalt  thou  make  in  the  ark."  You  may  build 
up  laborious  definitions  and  explanations  and 
yet  leave  your  hearers  in  the  dark  as  to  your 
meaning ;  but  a  thoroughly  suitable  metaphor 
will  wonderfully  clear  the  sense.  The  pictures 
in  an  illustrated  paper  give  us  a  far  better  idea 
of  the  scenery  which  they  represent  than  could 
be  conveyed  to  us  by  the  best  descriptive  letter- 
press ;  and  it  is  much  the  same  with  scriptural 
teaching:  abstract  truth  comes  before  us  so 
much  more  vividly  when  a  concrete  example 
is  given,  or  the  doctrine  itself  is  clothed  in 
figurative  language.  There  should,  if  possible, 
be  at  least  one  good  metaphor  in  the  shortest 
address ;  as  Ezekiel,  in  his  vision  of  the  tem- 
ple, saw  that  even  to  the  little  chambers  there 
were  windows  suitable  to  their  size,  [if  we  are 
faithful  to  the  spirit  of  the  gospel  we  labor  to 
make  things  plain :  it  is  our  study  to  be  sim- 
ple and  to  be  understood  by  the  most  illiterate 
of  our  hearers ;  let  us,  then,  set  forth  many  a 


ILLUSTKATIONS   IN   PREACHING.  ^ 

metaphor  and  parable  before  the  people.  He 
wrote  wisely  who  said,  "  The  world  below  me 
is  a  glass  in  which  I  may  see  the  world  above. 
The  works  of  God  are  the  shepherd's  calendar 
and  the  plowman's  alphabet."  Having  noth- 
ing to  conceal,  we  have  no  ambition  to  be  ob- 
scure. Lycophron  declared  that  he  would 
hang  himself  upon  a  tree  if  he  found  a  person 
who  could  understand  his  poem  entitled  "  The 
Prophecy  of  Cassandra."  Happily  no  one 
arose  to  drive  him  to  such  a  misuse  of  timber. 
We  think  we  could  find  brethren  in  the  min- 
istry who  might  safely  run  the  same  risk  in 
connection  with  their  sermons.  Still  have  we 
among  us  those  who  are  like  Heraclitus,  who 
was  called  '^  the  Dark  Doctor  "  because  his  lan- 
guage was  beyond  all  comprehension.  Certain 
mystical  discourses  are  so  dense  that  if  light 
were  admitted  into  them  it  would  be  extin- 
guished like  a  torch  in  the  Grotta  del  Cane: 
they  are  made  up  of  the  palpably  obscure  and 
the  inexplicably  involved,  and  all  hope  of  un- 
derstanding them  may  be  abandoned.  This 
style  of  oratory  we  do  not  cultivate.  We  are 
of  the  same  mind  as  Joshua  Shute,  who  said : 
*'  That  sermon  has  most  learning  in  it  that  has 
most  plainness.  Hence  it  is  that  a  great 
scholar  was  wont  to  say,  *"  Lord,  give  me  learn- 
ing enough,  that  I  may  preach  plain  enough.' " 


i/ 


10  THE  AKT  OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

Windows  greatly  add  to  the  pleasure  and 
agreeableness  of  a  habitation,  and  so  do  illus- 
trations make  a  sermon  pleasurable  and  inter- 
esting. A  building  without  windows  would  be 
a  prison  rather  than  a  house,  for  it  would  be 
quite  dark,  and  no  one  would  care  to  take  it 
upon  lease ;  and,  in  the  same  way,  a  discourse 
without  a  parable  is  prosy  and  dull,  and  in- 
volves a  grievous  weariness  of  the  flesh.  The 
preacher  in  Solomon's  Ecclesiastes  "  sought  to 
find  out  acceptable  words,"  or,  as  the  Hebrew 
has  it,  "  words  of  delight " :  surely,  figures  and 
comparisons  are  delectable  to  our  hearers.  Let 
us  not  deny  them  the  salt  of  parable  with  the 
meat  of  doctrine.  Our  congregations  hear  us 
with  pleasure  when  we  give  them  a  fair  mea- 
sure of  imagery:  when  an  anecdote  is  being  told 
they  rest,  take  breath,  and  give  play  to  their 
imaginations,  and  thus  prepare  themselves  for 
the  sterner  work  which  lies  before  them  in  lis- 
tening to  our  profounder  expositions.  Riding 
in  a  third-class  carriage  some  ^^ears  ago  in  the 
eastern  counties,  we  had  been  for  a  long  time 
without  a  lamp ;  and  when  a  traveler  lighted 
a  candle,  it  was  pleasant  to  see  how  all  eyes 
turned  that  way,  and  rejoiced  in  the  light: 
such  is  frequently  the  effect  of  an  apt  simile 
in  the  midst  of  a  sermon ;  it  lights  up  the  whole 
matter,  and  gladdens  every  heart.    Even  the 


ILLUSTRATIONS  IN  PREACHING.       11 

little  children  open  their  eyes  and  ears,  and  a 
smile  brightens  up  their  faces  as  we  tell  a 
story ;  for  they,  too,  rejoice  in  the  light  which 
streams  in  through  our  windows.  We  dare 
say  they  often  wish  that  the  sermon  were  all 
illustrations,  even  as  the  boy  desired  to  have  a 
cake  made  all  of  plums ;  but  that  must  not  be : 
there  is  a  happy  medium,  and  we  must  keep  to 
it  by  making  our  discourse  pleasant  hearing, 
but  not  a  mere  pastime.  No  reason  exists 
why  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  should  be  a 
miserable  operation  either  to  the  speaker  or  to 
the  hearer.  Pleasantly  profitable  let  all  our 
sermons  be.  A  house  must  not  have  thick 
walls  without  openings,  neither  must  a  dis- 
course be  all  made  up  of  solid  slabs  of  doctrine 
without  a  window  of  comparison  or  a  lattice 
of  poetry ;  if  so,  our  hearers  will  gradually  for- 
sake us,  and  prefer  to  stay  at  home  and  read 
their  favorite  authors,  whose  lively  tropes  and 
vivid  images  afford  more  pleasure  to  their 
minds. 

Every  architect  will  tell  you  that  he  looks 
upon  his  windows  as  an  opportunity  for  intro- 
ducing ornament  into  his  design.  A  pile  may 
be  massive,  but  it  cannot  be  pleasing  if  it  is 
not  broken  up  with  windows  and  other  de- 
tails. The  palace  of  the  popes  at  Avignon  is 
an  immense  structure ;  but  the  external  win- 


12  THE  ART   OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

dows  are  so  few  that  it  has  all  the  aspect  of  a 
colossal  prison,  and  suggests  nothing  of  what  a 
palace  should  be.  Sermons  need  to  be  broken 
up,  varied,  decorated,  and  enlivened ;  and  noth- 
ing can  do  this  so  well  as  the  introduction  of 
types,  emblems,  and  instances.  Of  course,  or- 
nament is  not  the  main  point  to  be  considered ; 
but  still  many  little  excellences  go  to  make  up 
perfection,  and  this  is  one  of  the  many,  and 
therefore  it  should  not  be  overlooked.  When 
Wisdom  built  her  house  she  hewed  out  her 
seven  pillars,  for  glory  and  for  beauty,  as  well 
as  for  the  support  of  the  structure ;  and  shall 
we  think  that  any  rough  hovel  is  good  enough 
for  the  beauty  of  holiness  to  dwell  ml  Cer- 
tainly a  gracious  discourse  is  none  the  better 
for  being  bereft  of  every  grace  of  language. 
Meretricious  ornament  we  deprecate,  but  an 
appropriate  beauty  of  speech  we  cultivate. 
Truth  is  a  king's  daughter,  and  her  raiment 
should  be  of  wrought  gold ;  her  house  is  a  pal- 
ace, and  it  should  be  adorned  with  "  windows 
of  agate  and  gates  of  carbuncle." 

lUustrations  tend  to  enliven  an  audience  and 
quicken  attention.  Windows,  when  they  will 
open — which,  alas!  is  not  often  the  case  in 
our  places  of  worship — are  a  great  blessing 
by  refreshing  and  reviving  the  audience  with 
a  little  pure  air,  and  arousing  the  poor  mor- 


ILLUSTRATIONS  IN  PREACHING.  13 

tals  who  are  rendered  sleepy  by  the  stagnant 
atmosphere.  A  window  should,  according  to 
its  name,  be  a  wind-door,  through  which  a 
breath  of  air  may  visit  the  audience;  even 
so,  an  original  figure,  a  noble  image,  a  quaint 
comparison,  a  rich  allegory,  should  open 
upon  our  hearers  a  breeze  of  happy  thought, 
which  will  pass  over  them  like  life-giving 
breath,  arousing  them  from  their  apathy,  and 
quickening  their  faculties  to  receive  the  truth. 
Those  who  are  accustomed  to  the  soporific  ser- 
monizings  of  certain  dignified  divines  would 
marvel  greatly  if  they  could  see  the  enthusi- 
asm and  lively  delight  with  which  congrega- 
tions listen  to  speech  through  which  there 
flows  a  quiet  current  of  happy,  natural  illus- 
tration. Arid  as  a  desert  are  many  volumes 
of  discourses  which  are  to  be  met  with  upon 
the  booksellers'  dust-covered  shelves;  but  if 
in  the  course  of  a  thousand  paragraphs  they 
contain  a  single  simile,  it  is  as  an  oasis  in  the 
Sahara,  and  serves  to  keep  the  reader's  soul 
alive.  In  fashioning  a  discourse  think  little 
of  the  bookworm,  which  will  be  sure  of  its  por- 
tion of  meat  however  dry  your  doctrine,  but 
have  pity  upon  those  hungering  ones  imme- 
diately around  you  who  must  find  life  through 
your  sermon  or  they  will  never  find  it  at  all. 
If  some  of  your  hearers  sleep  on  they  will  of 


14  THE  ART  OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

necessity  wake  up  in  eternal  perdition,  for 
they  hear  no  other  helpful  voice. 

While  we  thus  commend  illustrations  for 
necessary  uses,  it  must  be  remembered  that 
they  are  not  the  strength  of  a  sermon  any 
more  than  a  window  is  the  strength  of  a  house ; 
and  for  this  reason,  among  others,  they  should 
not  he  too  numerous.  Too  many  openings  for 
light  may  seriously  detract  from  the  stability 
of  a  building.  We  have  known  sermons  so 
full  of  metaphors  that  they  became  weak,  and 
we  had  almost  said  crazy ^  structures.  Ser-  v 
mons  must  not  be  nosegays  of  flowers,  but 
sheaves  of  wheat.  Very  beautiful  sermons 
are  generally  very  useless  ones.  To  aim  at 
elegance  is  to  court  failure.  It  is  possible  to 
have  too  much  of  a  good  thing :  a  glass  house 
is  not  the  most  comfortable  of  abodes,  and  be- 
sides other  objectionable  qualities  it  has  the 
great  fault  of  being  sadly  tempting  to  stone- 
throwers.  When  a  critical  adversary  attacks 
our  metaphors  he  generally  makes  short  work 
of  them.  To  friendly  minds  images  are  argu- 
ments, but  to  opponents  they  are  opportunities 
for  attack ;  the  enemy  climbs  up  by  the  win- 
dow. Comparisons  are  swords  with  two  edges 
which  cut  both  ways;  and  frequently  what 
seems  a  sharp  and  telling  illustration  may  be 
wittily  turned  against  you,  so  as  to  cause  a 


ILLUSTEATIONS   IN   PREACHING.  15 

laugh  at  your  expense :  therefore  do  not  rely 
upon  your  metaphors  and  parables.  Even  a 
second-rate  man  may  defend  himself  from  a 
superior  mind  if  he  can  dexterously  turn  his 
assailant's  gun  upon  himself.  Here  is  an  in- 
stance which  concerns  myself,  and  I  give  it 
for  that  reason,  since  these  lectures  have  all 
along  been  autobiographical.  I  give  a  cut- 
ting from  one  of  our  religious  papers:  "Mr. 
Beecher  was  neatly  tripped  up  in  '  The  Sword 
and  the  Trowel.'  In  his  '  Lectures  on  Preach- 
ing' he  asserts  that  Mr.  Spurgeon  has  suc- 
ceeded *  in  spite  of  his  Calvinism ' ;  adding  the 
remark  that  Hhe  camel  does  not  travel  any 
better,  nor  is  it  any  more  useful,  because  of 
the  hump  on  its  back.'  The  illustration  is  not 
a  felicitous  one,  for  Mr.  Spurgeon  thus  retorts : 
^Naturalists  assure  us  the  camel's  hump  is 
of  great  importance  in  the  eyes  of  the  Arabs, 
who  judge  of  the  condition  of  their  beasts  by 
the  size,  shape,  and  firmness  of  their  humps. 
The  camel  feeds  upon  his  hump  when  he  tra- 
verses the  wilderness,  so  that  in  proportion  as 
the  animal  travels  over  the  sandy  wastes,  and 
suffers  from  privation  and  fatigue,  the  mass 
diminishes ;  and  he  is  not  fit  for  a  long  journey 
till  the  hump  has  regained  its  proportions. 
Calvinism,  then,  is  the  spiritual  meat  which 
enables  a  man  to  labor  on  in  the  ways  of  Chris- 


16  THE  ART  OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

tian  service ;  and,  thougli  ridiculed  as  a  hump 
by  those  who  are  only  lookers-on,  those  who 
traverse  the  weary  paths  of  a  wilderness  ex- 
perience know  too  well  its  value  to  be  willing 
to  part  with  it,  even  if  a  Beecher's  splendid 
talents  could  be  given  in  exchange.' " 

Illustrate,  by  all  means,  but  do  not  let  the 
sermon  be  all  illustrations,  or  it  will  be  only 
suitable  for  an  assembly  of  simpletons.  A 
volume  is  all  the  better  for  engravings,  but  a 
scrap-book  which  is  all  woodcuts  is  usually 
intended  for  the  use  of  little  children.  Our 
house  should  be  built  up  with  the  substantial 
masonry  of  doctrine,  upon  the  deep  founda- 
tion of  inspiration;  its  pillars  should  be  of 
solid  scriptural  argument,  and  every  stone  of 
truth  should  be  carefully  laid  in  its  place ;  and 
then  the  windows  should  be  ranged  in  due 
order,  "  three  rows  "  if  we  will :  "  light  against 
light,"  like  the  house  of  the  forest  of  Lebanon. 
But  a  house  is  not  erected  for  the  sake  of  the 
windows,  nor  may  a  sermon  be  arranged  with 
the  view  of  fitting  in  a  favorite  apologue.  A 
window  is  merely  a  convenience  subordinate 
to  the  entire  design,  and  so  is  the  best  illus- 
tration. We  shall  be  foolish  indeed  if  we 
compose  a  discourse  to  display  a  metaphor; 
as  foolish  as  if  an  architect  should  build  a 
cathedral  with  the  view  of  exhibiting  a  stained- 


ILLUSTKATIONS   IN   PKEACHING.  17 

glass  window.  We  are  not  sent  into  the  world 
to  build  a  Crystal  Palace  in  which  to  set  out 
works  of  art  and  elegancies  of  fashion ;  but  as 
wise  master-builders  we  are  to  edify  a  spiritual 
house  for  the  divine  inhabiting.  Our  building 
is  intended  to  last,  and  is  meant  for  every-day 
use,  and  hence  it  must  not  be  all  crystal  and 
color.  We  miss  our  way  altogether,  as  gospel 
ministers,  if  we  aim  at  flash  and  finery. 

It  is  impossible  to  lay  down  a  rule  as  to  how 
much  adornment  shall  be  found  in  each  dis- 
course :  every  man  must  judge  for  himself  in 
that  matter.  True  taste  in  dress  could  not  be 
readily  defined,  yet  every  one  knows  what  it 
is ;  and  there  is  a  literary  and  spiritual  taste 
which  should  be  displayed  in  the  measur- 
ing out  of  tropes  and  figures  in  every  public 
speech.  "  Ne  quid  nimis  "  is  a  good  caution : 
do  not  be  too  eager  to  garnish  and  adorn. 
Some  men  seem  never  to  have  enough  of  met- 
aphors :  each  one  of  their  sentences  must  be  a 
flower.  They  compass  sea  and  land  to  find  a 
fresh  piece  of  colored  glass  for  their  windows, 
and  they  break  down  the  walls  of  their  dis- 
courses to  let  in  superfluous  ornaments,  till 
their  productions  rather  resemble  a  fantastic 
grotto  than  a  house  to  dwell  in.  They  are 
grievously  in  error  if  they  think  that  thus 
they  manifest  their  own  wisdom,  or  benefit 


18  THE  ART   OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

their  hearers.  I  could  almost  wish  for  a  re- 
turn of  the  window-tax  if  it  would  check  these 
poetical  brethren.  The  law,  I  believe,  allowed 
eight  windows  free  from  duty,  and  we  might 
also  exempt  "  a  few,  that  is  eight "  metaphors 
from  criticism;  but  more  than  that  ought  to 
pay  heavily.  Flowers  upon  the  table  at  a 
banquet  are  well  enough ;  but  as  nobody  can 
live  upon  bouquets,  they  will  become  objects 
of  contempt  if  they  are  set  before  us  in  lieu  of 
substantial  viands.  The  difference  between  a 
little  salt  with  your  meat  and  being  compelled 
to  empty  the  salt-cellar  is  clear  to  all ;  and  we 
could  wish  that  those  who  pour  out  so  many 
symbols,  emblems,  figures,  and  devices  would 
remember  that  nausea  in  oratory  is  not  more 
agreeable  than  in  food.  Enough  is  as  good  as 
a  feast ;  and  too  many  pretty  things  may  be  a 
greater  evil  than  none  at  all. 

It  is  a  suggestive  fact  that  the  tendency  to 
abound  in  metaphor  and  illustration  becomes 
weaker  as  men  grow  older  and  wiser.  Perhaps 
this  may,  in  a  measure,  be  ascribed  to  the  de- 
cay of  their  imagination ;  but  it  also  occurs  at 
the  same  time  as  the  ripening  of  their  under- 
standing. Some  may  have  to  use  fewer  figures 
of  necessity,  because  they  do  not  come  to  them 
as  aforetime ;  but  this  is  not  always  the  case. 


ILLUSTRATIONS   IN   PREACHING.  19 

I  know  that  men  who  still  possess  great  facil- 
ity in  imagery  find  it  less  needful  to  employ 
that  faculty  now  than  in  their  earlier  days,  for 
they  have  the  ear  of  the  people,  and  they  are 
solemnly  resolved  to  fill  that  ear  with  instruc- 
tion as  condensed  as  they  can  make  it.  When 
you  begin  with  a  people  who  have  not  heard 
the  gospel,  and  whose  attention  you  have  to 
win,  you  can  hardly  go  too  far  in  the  use  of 
figure  and  metaphor.  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
used  very  much  of  it ;  indeed,  "  without  a  par- 
able spake  he  not  unto  them";  because  they 
were  not  educated  up  to  the  point  at  which 
they  could  profitably  hear  pure  didactic  truth. 
It  is  noticeable  that  after  the  Holy  Ghost  had 
been  given,  fewer  pai*ables  were  used,  and  the 
saints  were  more  plainly  taught  of  God.  When 
Paul  spoke  or  wrote  to  the  churches  in  his 
epistles  he  employed  few  parables,  because  he 
addressed  those  who  were  advanced  in  grace 
and  willing  to  learn.  As  Christian  minds 
made  progress  the  style  of  their  teachers  be- 
came less  figurative,  and  more  plainly  doctri- 
nal. We  seldom  see  engravings  in  the  classics 
of  the  college ;  these  are  reserved  for  the  spell- 
ing-books of  the  dame-school.  This  should 
teach  us  wisdom,  and  suggest  that  we  are  to  be 
bound  by  no  hard  and  fast  rules,  but  should 


J 


20  THE   ABT   OF  ILLUSTKATION. 

use  more  or  less  of  any  mode  of  teaching  ac- 
cording to  our  own  condition  and  that  of  our 
people. 

Illustrations  should  really  cast  light  upon  the 
subject  in  hand,  otherwise  they  are  sham  win- 
dows, and  all  shams  are  an  abomination.  When 
the  window-tax  was  still  in  force  many  people 
in  country  houses  closed  half  their  lights  by 
plastering  them  up,  and  then  they  had  the 
plaster  painted  to  look  like  panes;  so  that 
there  was  still  the  appearance  of  a  window, 
though  no  sunlight  could  enter.  Well  do  I 
remember  the  dark  rooms  in  my  grandfather's 
parsonage,  and  my  wonder  that  men  should 
have  to  pay  for  the  light  of  the  sun.  Blind 
windows  are  fit  emblems  of  illustrations  which 
illustrate  nothing,  and  need  themselves  to  be 
explained.  Grandiloquence  is  never  more  char- 
acteristic than'in  its  figures;  there  it  disports 
itself  in  a  very  carnival  of  bombast.  We  could 
quote  several  fine  specimens  of  sublime  spread- 
eagleism  and  magnificent  nonsense. 

A  piece  of  high-flown  oratory  sheds  light 
upon  nothing,  and  does  not  in  the  faintest 
degree  enable  us  to  understand  the  reasons. 
The  object  of  language  of  this  kind  is  not  to 
instruct  the  hearer,  but  to  dazzle  him,  and,  if 
possible,  to  impress  him  with  the  idea  that  his 
minister  is  a  wonderful  orator.    He  who  con- 


n^LOSTRATlONS  IK  PREACHING.  21 

descends  to  use  clap-trap  of  any  kind  deserves 
to  be  debarred  the  pulpit  for  the  term  of  his 
natural  life.  Let  your  figures  of  speech  really 
represent  and  explain  your  meaning,  or  else 
they  are  dumb  idols,  which  ought  not  to  be 
set  up  in  the  house  of  the  Lord. 

It  may  be  well  to  note  that  illustrations 
should  not  he  too  prominent,  or,  to  pursue  our 
figure,  they  should  not  be  painted  windows, 
attracting  attention  to  themselves  rather  than 
letting  in  the  clear  light  of  day.  I  am  not 
pronouncing  any  judgment  upon  windows 
adorned  with  "glass  of  various  colors  which 
shine  like  meadows  decked  in  the  flowers  of 
spring  " ;  I  am  looking  only  to  my  illustration. 
Our  figures  are  meant  not  so  much  to  be  seen 
as  to  be  seen  through.  If  you  take  the  hearer's 
mind  away  from  the  subject  by  exciting  his 
admiration  of  3^our  own  skill  in  imagery,  you 
are  doing  evil  rather  than  good.  I  saw  in  one 
of  our  exhibitions  a  portrait  of  a  king;  but 
the  artist  had  surrounded  his  majesty  with  a 
bower  of  flowers  so  exquisitely  painted  that 
every  one's  eye  was  taken  away  from  the  royal 
figure.  All  the  resources  of  the  painter's  art 
had  been  lavished  upon  the  accessories,  and 
the  result  was  that  the  portrait,  which  should 
have  been  all  in  all,  had  fallen  into  a  secondary 


22  THE   ART   OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

place.  This  was  surely  an  error  in  portrait- 
painting,  even  though  it  might  be  a  success  in 
art.  We  have  to  set  foi-th  Christ  before  the 
people, "  evidently  crucified  among  them,"  and 
the  loveliest  emblem  or  the  most  charming 
image  which  calls  the  mind  away  from  our  di- 
vine subject  is  to  be  conscientiously  forsworn. 
Jesus  must  be  all  in  all:  his  gospel  must  be 
the  beginning  and  end  of  all  our  discoursing ; 
parable  and  poesy  must  be  under  his  feet,  and 
eloquence  must  wait  upon  him  as  his  servant. 
Never  by  any  possibility  must  the  minister's 
speech  become  a  rival  to  his  subject ;  that  were 
to  dishonor  Christ,  and  not  to  glorify  him. 
Hence  the  caution  that  the  illustrations  be  not 
too  conspicuous. 

Out  of  this  last  observation  comes  the  fur- 
ther remark  that  illustrations  are  best  ivhen  they 
are  natural  and  groiv  out  of  the  subject.  They 
should  be  like  those  well-arranged  windows 
which  are  evidently  part  of  the  plan  of  a  struc- 
ture, and  not  inserted  as  an  afterthought,  or 
for  mere  adornment.  The  cathedral  of  Milan 
inspires  my  mind  with  extreme  admiration ;  it 
always  appears  to  me  as  if  it  must  have  grown 
out  of  the  earth  like  a  colossal  tree,  or  rather 
like  a  forest  of  marble.  From  its  base  to  its 
loftiest  pinnacle  every  detail  is  a  natural  out- 
growth, a  portion  of  a  well-developed  whole, 


ILLUSTKATIONS   IN   PREACHING.  23 

essential  to  the  main  idea;  indeed,  part  and 
parcel  of  it.  Sucli  should  a  sermon  be;  its 
exordium,  divisions,  arguments,  appeals,  and 
metaphors  should  all  spring  out  of  itself ;  noth- 
ing should  be  out  of  living  relation  to  the 
rest;  it  should  seem  as  if  nothing  could  be 
added  without  being  an  excrescence,  and  noth- 
ing taken  away  without  inflicting  damage. 
There  should  be  flowers  in  a  sermon,  but  the 
bulk  of  them  should  be  the  flowers  of  the  soil ;  "^ 
not  dainty  exotics,  evidently  imported  with 
much  care  from  a  distant  land,  but  the  natu- 
ral upspringing  of  a  life  natural  to  the  holy 
ground  on  which  the  preacher  stands.  Fig- 
ures of  speech  should  be  congruous  with  the 
matter  of  the  discourse ;  a  rose  upon  an  oak 
would  be  out  of  place,  and  a  lily  springing 
from  a  poplar  would  be  unnatural :  everything 
should  be  of  a  piece  and  have  a  manifest  rela- 
tionship to  the  rest.  Occasionally  a  little  bar- 
baric splendor  may  be  allowed,  after  the  man- 
ner of  Thomas  Adams  and  Jeremy  Taylor  and 
other  masters  in  Israel,  who  adorn  truth  with 
rare  gems  and  gold  of  Ophir,  fetched  from 
far.  Yet  I  would  have  you  note  what  Dr. 
Hamilton  says  of  Taylor,  for  it  is  a  warning 
to  those  who  aim  at  winning  the  ear  of  the 
multitude:  "Thoughts,  epithets,  incidents, 
images  ♦came  trooping  round  with  irrepressi- 


24  THE  ART  OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

ble  profnsion,  and  they  were  all  so  apt  and 
beautiful  that  it  was  hard  to  send  any  of  them 
away.  And  so  he  tried  to  find  a  place  and  use 
for  all — for  '  flowers  and  wings  of  butterflies,' 
as  well  as  ^  wheat ' ;  and  if  he  could  not  fabri- 
cate links  of  his  logical  chain  out  of  '  the  little 
rings  of  the  vine '  and  ^  the  locks  of  a  new- 
weaned  boy,'  he  could  at  least  decorate  his 
subject  with  exquisite  adornments.  The  pas- 
sages from  his  loved  Austin  and  Chrysostom, 
and  not  less  beloved  Seneca  and  Plutarch,  the 
scholar  knows  how  to  pardon.  The  squirrel 
is  not  more  tempted  to  carry  nuts  to  his  hoard 
than  the  bookish  author  is  tempted  to  trans- 
fer to  his  own  pages  fine  passages  from  his 
favorite  authors.  Alas !  he  little  knows  how 
flat  and  meaningless  they  are  to  those  who 
have  not  traversed  the  same  walks,  and  shared 
the  delight  with  which  he  found  great  spoil. 
To  him  each  polished  shell  recalls  its  autumnal 
tale  of  woods,  and  groves,  and  sunshine  show- 
ering through  the  yellow  leaves;  but  to  the 
quaint  collection  ^the  general  public'  very 
much  prefer  a  pint  of  filberts  from  a  huck- 
ster's barrow."  No  illustrations  are  half  so 
telling  as  those  which  are  taken  from  familiar 
objects.  Many  fair  flowers  grow  in  foreign 
lands,  but  those  are  dearest  to  the  heart  which 
bloom  at  our  own  cottage  door. 


ILLUSTRATIONS  IN   PREACHING.  25 

Elahoration  into  minute  points  is  not  com- 
mendable when  we  are  using  figures.  The  best 
Hght  comes  in  through  the  clearest  glass :  too 
much  paint  keeps  out  the  sun.  God's  altar  of 
old  was  to  be  made  of  earth,  or  of  unhewn 
stone,  ''  for,"  said  the  Word,  ''  if  thou  lift  up 
thy  tool  upon  it,  thou  hast  polluted  it "  (Ex. 
XX.  25).  A  labored,  artificial  style,  upon  which 
the  graver's  tool  has  left  abundant  marks, 
is  more  consistent  with  human  pleadings  in 
courts  of  law,  or  in  the  forum,  or  in  the  sen- 
ate, than  with  prophetic  utterances  delivered 
in  the  name  of  God  and  for  the  promotion  of 
his  glory.  Our  Lord's  parables  were  as  simple 
as  tales  for  children,  and  as  naturally  beautiful 
as  the  lilies  which  sprang  up  in  the  valleys 
where  he  taught  the  people.  He  borrowed  no  v 
legend  from  the  Talmud,  nor  fairy  tale  from 
Persia,  neither  fetched  he  his  emblems  from 
beyond  the  sea ;  but  he  dwelt  among  his  own 
people,  and  talked  of  common  things  in  homely 
style,  as  never  man  spake  before,  and  yet  as 
any  observant  man  should  speak.  His  para- 
bles were  like  himself  and  his  surroundings, 
and  were  never  strained,  fantastic,  pedantic, 
or  artificial.  Let  us  imitate  him,  for  we  shall 
never  find  a  model  more  complete,  or  more 
suitable  for  the  present  age.  Opening  our 
eyes,  we  shall  discover  abundant  imagery  all 


y 


26  THE   AKT   OF   ILLUSTKATIOH. 

around.  As  it  is  written,  "  The  word  is  nigh 
thee,"  so  also  is  the  analog}^  of  that  word  near 
at  hand : 

^'AU  things  around  me,  whate'er  they  be, 
That  I  meet  as  the  chance  may  come. 
Have  a  voice  and  a  speech  in  them  all — 
Birds  that  hover  and  bees  that  hum ; 
The  beast  of  the  field  or  the  stall ; 
The  trees,  leaves,  rushes,  and  grasses ; 
The  rivulet  running  away  ; 
The  bird  of  the  air  as  it  passes, 
Or  the  mountains  that  motionless  stay , 
And  yet  those  immovable  masses 
Keep  changing,  as  dreams  do,  all  day."  * 

There  will  be  little  need  to  borrow  from 
the  recondite  mysteries  of  human  ai't,  nor 
to  go  deep  into  the  theories  of  science ;  for 
in  nature  golden  illustrations  lie  upon  the 
surface,  and  the  purest  is  that  which  is  upper- 
most and  most  readily  discerned.  Of  natural 
history  in  all  its  branches  we  may  well  say, 
"The  gold  of  that  land  is  good":  the  illustra- 
^  tions  furnished  by  e very-day  phenomena  seen 
by  the  plowman  and  the  wagoner  are  the  very 
best  which  earth  can  yield.  An  illustration  is 
not  like  a  prophet,  for  it  has  most  honor  in 
its  own  country ;  and  those  who  have  oftenest 

*  Slightly  altered  from  ^'  Fables  in  Song,"  by  Robert 
Lord  Lvtton. 


ILLUSTRATIONS   IK   PREACHING.  27 

seen  the  object  are  those  who  are  most  gi-ati- 
fied  by  the  figure  drawn  from  it. 

I  trust  that  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add 
that  iUustrations  must  never  he  low  or  mean. 
They  may  not  be  high-flown,  but  they  should 
always  be  in  good  taste.  They  may  be  homely, 
and  yet  chastely  beautiful;  but  rough  and 
coarse  they  should  never  be.  A  house  is  dis- 
honored by  having  dirty  windows,  cobwebbed 
and  begrimed,  patched  with  brown  paper,  or 
stuffed  up  with  rags :  such  windows  are  the 
insignia  of  a  hovel  rather  than  a  house.  About 
our  illustrations  there  must  never  be  even  the 
slightest  trace  of  anything  that  would  shock 
the  most  delicate  modest}^  We  like  not  that 
window  out  of  which  Jezebel  is  looking.  Like 
the  bells  upon  the  horses,  our  lightest  expres- 
sions must  be  holiness  unto  the  Lord.  Of  that 
which  suggests  the  groveling  and  the  base  we 
may  say  with  the  Apostle,  ''  Let  it  not  be  once 
named  among  you,  as  becometh  saints."  All 
our  windows  should  open  toward  Jerusalem, 
and  none  toward  Sodom.  We  will  gather  our 
flowers  always  and  only  from  Emmanuel's 
land,  and  Jesus. himself  shall  be  their  savor 
and  sweetness,  so  that  when  he  lingers  at  the 
lattice  to  hear  us  speak  of  himself  he  may  say, 
"Thy  lips,  O  my  spouse,  drop  as  the  honey- 
comb :  honey  and  milk  are  under  thy  tongue." 


28  THE  ART  or  ILLUSTRATION. 

That  which  grows  beyond  the  border  of  purity 
and  good  repute  must  never  be  bound  up  in 
our  garlands,  nor  placed  among  the  decorar- 
tions  of  our  discourses.  That  which  would 
be  exceedingly  clever  and  telling  in  a  stump 
orator's  speech,  or  in  a  cheap- jack's  harangue, 
would  be  disgusting  from  a  minister  of  the 
gospel.  Time  was  when  we  could  have  found 
far  too  many  specimens  of  censurable  coarse- 
ness, but  it  would  be  ungenerous  to  mention 
them  now  that  such  things  are  on  all  hands 
condemned. 

Gentlemen,  take  care  that  your  windows  are 
not  broken,  or  even  cracked :  in  other  words, 
guard  against  confused  metaphors  and  limping 
illustrations.  Sir  Boyle  Roche  is  generally 
credited  with  some  of  the  finest  specimens  of 
metaphorical  conglomerate.  We  should  im- 
agine that  the  passage  is  mythical  in  which 
he  is  represented  as  saying,  "  I  smell  a  rat ;  I 
see  it  floating  in  the  air ;  Pll  nip  it  in  the  bud." 
Minor  blunderings  are  frequent  enough  in  tlie 
speech  of  our  own  countrymen.  An  excellent 
temperance  advocate  exclaimed,  "Comrades, 
let  us  be  up  and  doing !  Let  us  take  our  axes 
on  our  shoulders,  and  plow  the  waste  places 
till  the  good  ship  Temperance  sails  gaily  over 
the  land."  We  well  remember,  years  ago,  hear- 
ing a  fervent  Irish  clergyman  exclaim,  "  Gari- 


ILLUSTKATIONS   IN   PKEACHING.  29 

baldi,  sir,  lie  is  far  too  great  a  man  to  play 
second  fiddle  to  such  a  wretched  luminary  as 
"Victor  Emmanuel."  It  was  at  a  public  meet- 
ing, and  therefore  we  were  bound  to  be  proper ; 
but  it  would  have  been  a  great  relief  to  our 
soul  if  we  might  have  indulged  in  a  hearty 
laugh  at  the  spectacle  of  Graribaldi  with  a 
fiddle,  playing  to  a  luminary;  for  a  certain 
nursery  rhyme  jingled  in  our  ears,  and  sorely 
tried  our  gravity.  A  poetic  friend  thus  en- 
couragingly addresses  us : 

'^  March  on,  however  rough  the  road, 
Though  foes  obstruct  thy  way, 
Deaf  to  the  harking  curs  that  ivould 
Ensnare  thy  feet  astray.''^ 

The  other  evening  a  brother  expressed  his 
desire  that  we  might  "  all  be  winners  of  souls, 
and  bring  the  Lord's  blood-bought  jewels  to 
cast  their  crowns  at  his  feet.^  The  words  had 
such  a  pious  ring  about  them  that  the  audience 
did  not  observe  the  fractured  state  of  the  ex- 
pression. One  of  your  own  number  hoped 
"  that  every  student  might  be  enabled  to  sound 
the  gospel  trumpet  with  such  a  clear  and  cer- 
tain sound  that  the  hl'md  might  see^  Perhaps 
he  meant  that  they  should  open  their  eyes  with 
astonishment  at  the  terrific  blast ;  but  the  fig- 
ure would  have  been  more  congruous  if  he 


30  THE   ART   OF   ILLUSTEATION. 

had  said  "  that  the  deaf  should  hear."  A  Scotch 
writer,  in  referring  to  a  proposal  to  use  an 
organ  in  divine  service,  says :  "  Nothing  will 
stem  this  avalanche  of  will-worship  and  gross 
sin  but  the  falling  hack  on  the  Word  of  Gody 

The  Daily  NewSj  in  reviewing  a  book  written 
by  an  eminent  minister,  complained  that  his 
metaphors  were  apt  to  be  a  little  unmanage- 
able, as  when  he  spoke  of  something  which 
had  remained  a  secret  until  a  strangely  potent 
key  was  inserted  among  the  hidden  wards  of 
the  parental  heart,  and  a  rude  wrench  flung 
wide  the  floodgates  and  set  free  the  imprisoned 
stream.  However,  there  is  no  wonder  that 
ordinary  mortals  commit  blunders  in  figura- 
tive speech,  when  even  his  late  Infallible  Holi- 
ness Pius  IX.  said  of  Mr.  Gladstone  that  he 
"  had  suddenly  come  forward  like  a  viper  as- 
sailing the  bark  of  St.  Peter."  A  viper  assail- 
ing a  bark  is  rather  too  much  for  the  mo^t 
accommodating  imagination,  although  some 
minds  are  ready  for  any  marvels. 

One  of  those  reviews  which  reckon  them- 
selves to  be  the  cream  of  the  cream  took  pains 
to  inform  us  that  the  Dean  of  Chichester,  be- 
ing the  select  preacher  at  St.  Mary's,  Oxford, 
"seized  the  opportunity  to  smite  the  Ritual- 
ists hip  and  thigh,  with  great  volubility  and 


ILLUSTRATIONS   IN   PREACHING.  31 

vivacity.''''    Samson  smote  his  foes  with  a  great 
slaughter ;  but  language  is  flexible. 

These  blunders  are  to  be  quoted  by  the  page : 
I  have  given  enough  to  let  you  see  how  read- 
ily the  pitchers  of  metaphor  may  be  cracked, 
and  rendered  unfit  to  carry  our  meaning.  The 
ablest  speaker  may  occasionally  err  in  this 
direction ;  it  is  not  a  very  serious  matter,  and 
yet,  like  a  dead  fly,  it  may  spoil  sweet  oint- 
ment. A  few  brethren  of  my  acquaintance 
are  always  off  the  lines ;  they  muddle  up  every 
figure  they  touch,  and  as  soon  as  they  approach 
a  metaphor  we  look  for  an  accident.  It  might 
be  wisdom  on  their  part  to  shun  all  figures  of 
speech  till  they  .know  how  to  use  them ;  for  it 
is  a  great  pity  when  illustrations  are  so  con- 
fused as  both  to  darken  the  sense  and  create 
diversion.  Muddled  metaphors  are  muddles 
indeed;  let  us  give  the  people  good  illustra- 
tions or  none  at  all. 


LECTUEE  II. 

ANECDOTES  FEOM  THE  PULPIT. 

It  is  pretty  generally  admitted  that  sermons 
may  wisely  be  adorned  with  a  fair  share  of 
illustrations;  but  anecdotes  used  to  that  end 
are  still  regarded  by  the  prudes  of  the  pulpit 
with  a  measure  of  suspicion.  They  will  come 
down  low  enough  to  quote  an  emblem,  they 
will  deign  to  use  poetic  imagery;  but  they 
cannot  stoop  to  tell  a  simple,  homely  story. 
They  would  probably  say  in  confidence  to 
their  younger  brethren,  "Beware  how  you 
lower  yourselves  and  your  sacred  office  by  re- 
peating anecdotes,  which  are  best  appreciated 
by  the  vulgar  and  uneducated."  We  would 
not  retort  by  exhorting  all  men  to  abound  in 
stories,  for  there  ought  to  be  discrimination. 
It  is  freely  admitted  that  there  are  useful  and 
admirable  styles  of  oratory  which  would  be 
disfigured  by  a  rustic  tale ;  and  there  are  hon- 
ored brethren  whose  genius  would  never  allow 
them  to  relate  a  story,  for  it  would  not  appear 
suitable  to  their  mode  of  thought.    Upon  these 

32 


ANECDOTES  FROM  THE  PULPIT.       33 

we  would  not  even  by  implication  hint  at  a 
censure ;  but  when  we  are  dealing  with  others 
who  seem  to  be  somewhat,  and  are  not  what 
they  seem,  we  feel  no  tenderness ;  nay,  we  are 
even  moved  to  assail  their  stilted  greatness.  If 
they  sneer  at  anecdotes,  we  smile  at  them  and 
their  sneers,  and  wish  them  more  sense  and 
less  starch.  Affectation  of  intellectual  supe- 
riority and  love  of  rhetorical  splendor  have 
prevented  many  from  setting  forth  gospel 
truth  in  the  easiest  imaginable  manner,  name- 
ly, by  analogies  drawn  from  common  events. 
Because  they  could  not  condescend  to  men  of 
low  estate,  they  have  refrained  from  repeat- 
ing incidents  which  would  have  accurately  ex- 
plained their  meaning.  Fearing  to  be  thought 
vulgar,  they  have  lost  golden  opportunities. 
As  well  might  David  have  refused  to  sling 
one  of  the  smooth  stones  at  Goliath's  brow 
because  he  found  it  in  a  common  brook. 

From  individuals  so  lofty  in  their  ideas 
nothing  is  likely  to  flow  down  to  the  masses 
of  the  people  but  a  glacial  eloquence — a  river 
of  ice.  Dignity  is  a  most  poor  and  despicable 
consideration  unless  it  be  the  dignity  of  turn- 
ing many  to  righteousness;  and  yet  divines 
who  have  had  scarcely  enough  of  real  dignity 
to  save  themselves  from  contempt  have  swol- 
len  "huge   as  high   Olympus"   through   the 


34  THE  AET   OF   ILLUSTRATION. 

affectation  of  it.  A  young  gentleman,  after 
delivering  an  elaborate  discourse,  was  told  that 
not  more  than  five  or  six  in  the  congregation 
had  been  able  to  understand  him.  This  he 
accepted  as  a  tribute  to  his  genius ;  but  I  take 
leave  to  place  him  in  the  same  class  with  an- 
other person  who  was  accustomed  to  shake 
his  head  in  the  most  profound  manner,  that 
he  might  make  his  prelections  the  more  im- 
pressive; and  this  had  some  effect  with  the 
groundlings,  until  a  shrewd  Christian  woman 
made  the  remark  that  he  did  shake  his  head 
certainly,  but  that  there  tvas  nothing  in  it. 
Those  who  are  too  refined  to  be  simple  need 
to  be  refined  again.  Luther  has  well  put  it  in 
his  "  Table  Talk  " :  "  Cursed  are  all  preachers 
*  that  in  the  church  aim  at  high  and  hard  things ; 
and  neglecting  the  saving  health  of  the  poor 
unlearned  people,  seek  their  own  honor  and 
praise,  and  therefore  try  to  please  one  or  two 
great  persons.  When  I  preach  I  sink  myself 
deep  doivn.''^  It  may  be  superfluous  to  remind 
you  of  the  oft-quoted  passage  from  George 
Herbert's  "Country  Parson,"  and  yet  I  cannot 
omit  it,  because  it  is  so  much  to  my  mind : 
"  The  Parson  also  serves  himself  of  the  judg- 
ments of  God,  as  of  those  of  ancient  times,  so 
especially  of  the  late  ones;  and  those  most 
which  are  nearest  to  his  parish ;  for  people  are 


ANECDOTES  FKOM  THE  PULPIT.      35 

very  attentive  at  such  discourses,  and  think  it 
behooves  tliem  to  be  so  when  God  is  so  near 
them,  and  even  over  their  heads.  Sometimes 
he  tells  them  stories  and  sayings  of  others, 
according  as  his  text  invites  him;  for  them 
also  men  heed,  and  remember  better  than  ex- 
hortations ;  which,  though  earnest,  yet  often 
die  with  the  sermon,  especially  with  country 
people,  which  are  thick  and  heavy,  and  hard 
to  raise  to  a  point  of  zeal  and  fervency,  and 
need  a  mountain  of  fire  to  kindle  them,  but 
stories  and  sayings  they  will  well  remember." 

It  ought  never  to  be  forgotten  that  the  great 
God  himself,  when  he  would  instruct  men, 
employs  histories  and  biographies.  Our  Bible 
contains  doctrines,  promises,  and  precepts; 
but  these  are  not  left  alone — the  whole  book  is 
vivified  and  illustrated  by  marvelous  records 
of  things  said  and  done  by  God  and  by  men. 
He  who  is  taught  of  God  values  the  sacred 
histories,  and  knows  that  in  them  there  is  a 
special  fulness  and  forcibleness  of  instruction. 
Teachers  of  Scripture  cannot  do  better  than 
instruct  their  fellows  after  the  manner  of  the 
Scriptures. 

Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  great  teacher  of 
teachers,  did  not  disdain  the  use  of  anecdotes. 
To  my  mind  it  seems  clear  that  certain  of  his 
parables  were  facts  and,  consequently,  anec- 


36  THE   ART   OF   ILLUSTRATION. 

dotes.  May  not  the  story  of  the  Prodigal  Son 
have  been  a  literal  truth?  Were  there  not 
actual  instances  of  an  enemy  sowing  tares 
among  the  wheat?  May  not  the  rich  fool  who 
said,  "Take  thine  ease,"  have  been  a  photo- 
graph taken  from  life?  Did  not  Dives  and 
Lazarus  actually  figure  on  the  stage  of  his- 
tory? Certainly  the  story  of  those  who  were 
crushed  by  the  fall  of  the  tower  of  Siloani,  and 
the  sad  tragedy  of  the  Galileans,  "  whose  blood 
Pilate  had  mingled  with  their  sacrifices,"  were 
matters  of  current  Jewish  gossip,  and  our 
Lord  turned  both  of  them  to  good  account. 
What  HE  did  we  need  not  be  ashamed  to  do. 
That  we  may  do  it  with  all  wisdom  and  pru- 
dence let  us  seek  the  guidance  of  the  Divine 
Spirit  which  rested  upon  him  so  continually. 

I  shall  make  up  this  present  address  by 
quoting  the  examples  of  great  preachers,  be- 
ginning with  the  era  of  the  Eeformation,  and 
following  on  without  any  very  rigid  chrono- 
logical order  down  to  our  own  day.  Exam- 
ples are  more  powerful  than  precepts;  hence 
I  quote  them. 

First,  let  me  mention  that  grand  old  preach- 
er, Hugh  Latimer^  the  most  English  of  all  our 
divines,  and  one  whose  influence  over  our  land 
was  undoubtedly  most  powerful.  Southey 
says,  "  Latimer  more  than  any  other  man  pro- 


ANECDOTES  FROM  THE  PULPIT.      37 

moted  the  Reformation  by  his  preaching ;  ^ 
and  in  this  he  echoes  the  more  important  ut- 
terance of  Eidley,  who  wrote  from  his  prison, 
'*I  do  think  that  the  Lord  hath  placed  old 
father  Latimer  to  be  his  standard-bearer  in 
our  age  and  country  against  his  mortal  foe, 
Antichrist."  If  you  have  read  any  of  his  ser- 
mons, you  must  have  been  struck  with  the 
number  of  his  quaint  stories,  seasoned  with  a 
homely  humor  which  smacks  of  that  Leicester- 
shire farmhouse  wherein  he  was  brought  up 
by  a  father  who  did  yeoman's  service,  and  a 
mother  who  milked  thirty  kine.  No  doubt  we 
may  attribute  to  these  stories  the  breaking 
down  of  pews  by  the  overwhelming  rush  of 
the  people  to  hear  him,  and  the  general  inter- 
est which  his  sermons  excited.  More  of  such, 
preaching,  and  we  should  have  less  fear  of  the 
return  of  popeiy.  The  common  people  heard 
him  gladly,  and  his  lively  anecdotes  accounted 
for  much  of  their  eager  attention.  A  few  of 
these  narratives  one  could  hardly  repeat,  for 
the  taste  of  our  age  has  happily  improved  in 
delicacy;  but  others  are  most  admirable  and 
instructive.     Here  are  two  of  them : 

The  Friar's  Man  and  the  Ten  Commandments. — T 
will  tell  you  now  a  pretty  story  of  a  friar,  to  refresh  you 
withal.  A  limiter  of  the  Gray  Friars  in  the  time  of  his 
limitation  preached  many  times,  and  had  but  one  ser- 


38  THE  ART   OP   ILLUSTRATION. 

mon  at  all  times;  which  sermon  was  of  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments. And  because  this  friar  had  preached  this 
sermon  so  often,  one  tliat  heard  it  before  told  the  friar's 
servant  that  his  master  was  called  "  Friar  John  Ten  Com- 
mandments " }  wherefore  the  servant  showed  the  friar  his 
master  thereof,  and  advised  him  to  preach  of  some  other 
matters;  for  it  grieved  the  servant  to  hear  his  master 
derided.  Now,  the  friar  made  answer  saying,  "  Belike, 
then,  thou  canst  say  the  Ten  Commandments  well,  seeing 
thou  hast  heard  them  so  many  a  time."  "  Yea,"  said  the 
servant,  *'  I  warrant  you."  ''  Let  me  hear  them,"  saith  the 
master.  Then  he  began  :  ''  Pride,  covetousness,  lechery," 
and  so  numbered  the  deadly  sins  for  the  Ten  Command- 
ments. And  so  there  be  many  at  this  time  which  be  weary 
of  the  old  gospel.  They  would  fain  hear  some  new  things, 
they  think  themselves  so  perfect  in  the  old,  when  they  be 
no  more  skilful  than  this  servant  was  in  his  Ten  Com- 
mandments. 

Saint  Anthony  and  the  CoBBLER.^Weread  a  pretty 
story  of  Saint  Anthony,  which,  being  in  the  wilderness, 
led  there  a  very  hard  and  straight  life,  insomuch  as  none 
at  that  time  did  the  like,  to  whom  came  a  voice  from 
heaven  saying,  "Anthony,  thou  art  not  so  perfect  as  is  a 
cobbler  that  dwelleth  at  Alexandria."  Anthony  hearing 
this  rose  up  forthwith  and  took  his  staff  and  went  tUl 
he  came  to  Alexandria,  where  he  fouud  the  cobbler.  The 
cobbler  was  astonished  to  see  so  reverend  a  father  to  come 
into  his  house.  Then  Anthony  said  unto  him,  "  Come  and 
tell  me  thy  whole  conversation  and  how  thou  spendest  thy 
time."  '*  Sir,"  said  the  cobbler,  "  as  for  me,  good  works  I 
have  none,  for  my  life  is  but  simple  and  slender.  I  am 
but  a  poor  cobbler.  In  the  morning  when  I  arise  I  pray 
for  the  whole  city  wherein  I  dwell,  especially  for  all  such 
neighbors  and  poor  friends  as  I  have.  After,  I  set  me  at 
my  labor,  where  I  spend  the  whole  day  in  getting  of  my 


ANECDOTES  FKOM  THE  PULPIT.       39 

living,  and  keep  me  from  all  falsehood,  for  I  hate  nothing 
so  much  as  I  do  deeeitfulness.  Wherefore,  when  I  make 
to  any  man  a  promise  I  keep  it  and  do  it  truly,  and  so 
spend  my  time  poorly  with  my  wife  and  children,  whom  I 
teach  and  instruct,  as  far  as  my  wit  will  serve  me,  to  fear 
and  dread  God.     This  is  the  sum  of  mj-  simple  life." 

In  this  story  you  see  how  God  loveth  those  that  follow 
their  vocation  and  live  uprightly  without  any  falsehood 
in  their  dealing.  This  Anthony  was  a  great  and  holy  man, 
yet  this  cobbler  was  as  much  esteemed  before  God  as  he. 

Let  US  take  a  long  leap  of  about  a  century, 
and  we  come  to  Jeremy  Taylor,  another  bishop, 
whom  I  mention  immediately  after  Latimer  be- 
cause he  is  apparently  such  a  contrast  to  that 
homely  divine,  while  yet  in  very  truth  he  has 
a  measure  of  likeness  to  him  as  to  the  point 
now  in  hand.  They  both  rejoiced  in  figure 
and  metaphor,  and  equally  delighted  in  inci- 
dent and  narrative.  True,  the  one  would  talk 
of  John  and  William,  and  the  other  of  Anex- 
agoras  and  Scipio ;  but  actual  scenes  were  the 
delight  of  each.  In  this  respect  Jeremy  Taylor 
may  be  said  to  be  Latimer  turned  into  Latin. 
Jeremy  Taylor  is  as  full  of  classical  allusions 
as  a  king's  palace  is  full  of  rare  treasures,  and 
his  language  is  of  the  lofty  order  which  more 
becomes  a  patrician  audience  than  a  popular 
assembly ;  but  when  you  come  to  the  essence 
of  things,  you  see  that  if  Latimer  is  homely, 
so  also  Taylor  narrates  incidents  which  are 


40  THE   ART   OF   ILLUSTRATION. 

homely  to  him;  but  Ms  home  is  among  philoso- 
phers of  Greece  and  senators  of  Rome.  This 
being  understood,  we  venture  to  say  that  no 
one  used  more  anecdotes  than  this  splendid 
poet-preacher.  His  biographer  truly  says: 
"  It  would  be  hard  to  point  out  a  branch  of 
learning  or  of  scientific  pursuit  to  which  he 
does  not  occasionally  allude;  or  any  author 
of  eminence,  either  ancient  or  modern,  with 
whom  he  does  not  evince  himself  acquainted. 
He  more  than  once  refers  to  obscure  stories 
in  ancient  writers,  as  if  they  were  of  necessity 
as  familiar  to  all  his  readers  as  to  himself ;  as, 
for  instance,  he  talks  of  ^  poor  Attillius  Avi- 
ola,'  and  again  of  ^  the  Libyan  lion  that  brake 
loose  into  his  wilderness  and  killed  two  Roman 
boys.' "  In  all  this  he  is  eminently  select  and 
classical,  and  therefore  I  the  more  freely  intro- 
duce him  here ;  for  there  can  be  no  reason  why 
our  anecdotes  should  all  be  rustic;  we,  too, 
may  rifle  the  treasures  of  antiquity,  and  make 
the  heathen  contribute  to  the  gospel,  even  as 
Hiram  of  Tyre  served  under  Solomon's  direc- 
tion for  the  building  of  the  temple  of  the 
Lord. 

I  am  no  admirer  of  Taylor's  style  in  other 
respects,  and  his  teaching  seems  to  be  at  times 
semi-popish ;  but  in  this  place  I  have  only  to 
deal  with  him  upon  one  particular,  and  of  that 


ANECDOTES  FROM  THE  PULPIT.       41 

matter  he  is  an  admirable  example.  He  lav- 
ishes classic  stories  even  as  an  Asiatic  queen 
bedecks  herself  with  countless  pearls.  Out  of 
a  sermon  I  extract  the  following,  which  may 
suffice  for  our  purpose : 

Students  Progressing  Backward.— Menedemus  was 
wont  to  say  '^  that  the  young  boys  that  went  to  Athens 
the  first  year  were  wise  men,  the  second  year  philosophers, 
the  third  orators,  and  the  fonrtli  were  but  plebeians,  and 
understood  nothing-  but  their  o^^'n  ignorance."  And  just 
so  it  happens  to  some  in  the  progresses  of  religion.  At 
first  tliey  are  violent  and  active,  and  then  they  satiate  all 
the  appetites  of  religion ;  and  that  which  is  left  is  that 
they  were  soon  wearj^  and  sat  down  in  displeasure,  and 
return  to  the  world  and  dwell  in  the  business  of  pride  or 
money;  and  by  this  time  they  understand  that  their  re- 
ligion is  declined,  and  passed  from  the  heats  and  follies 
of  youth  to  the  coldness  and  infirmities  of  old  age. 

Diogenes  and  the  Young  Man. — Diogenes  once  spied 
a  young  man  coming  out  of  a  tavern  or  place  of  enter- 
tainment, who,  perceiving  himself  observed  by  the  phi- 
losopher, with  some  confusion  stepped  back  again,  that 
he  might,  if  possible,  preserve  his  fame  with  that  severe 
person.  But  Diogenes  told  him,  *'  Quanto  magis  intraveris, 
tanto  magis  eris  in  caupona^''  (''  The  more  you  go  back  the 
longer  you  are  in  the  place  where  you  are  ashamed  to  be 
seen").  He  that  conceals  his  sin  still  retains  that  which 
he  counts  his  shame  and  burden. 

No  examples  will  have  greater  weight  with 
you  than  those  taken  from  among  the  Puri- 
tans, in  whose  steps  it  is  our  desire  to  walk, 
though,  alas !  we  follow  with  feeble  feet.    Cer- 


42  THE   ART   OF   ILLUSTRATION. 

tain  of  them  abounded  in  anecdotes  and  sto- 
ri.es.  Thomas  Brooks  is  a  signal  instance  of  the 
wise  and  wealthy  use  of  holy  fancy.  I  put 
him  first,  because  I  reckon  him  to  be  the  first 
in  the  special  art  which  is  now  under  consider- 
ation. He  hath  dust  of  gold ;  for  even  in  the 
margins  of  his  books  there  are  sentences  of 
exceeding  preciousness,  and  hints  at  classic 
stories.  His  style  is  clear  and  full;  he  never 
so  exceeds  in  illustration  as  to  lose  sight  of 
his  doctrine.  His  floods  of  metaphor  never 
drown  his  meaning,  but  float  it  upon  their 
surface.  If  you  have  never  read  his  works  I 
almost  envy  you  the  joy  of  entering  for  the 
first  time  upon  his  ^'  Unsearchable  Riches," 
trying  his  "  Precious  Remedies,"  tasting  his 
"Apples  of  Gold,"  communing  with  his  "  Mute 
Christian,"  and  enjoying  his  other  masterly 
writings.  Let  me  give  you  a  taste  of  his  qual- 
ity in  the  way  of  anecdotes.  Here  are  two 
brief  ones ;  but  he  so  abounds  with  them  that 
you  may  readily  cull  scores  of  better  ones  for 
yourselves. 

Mr.  Welch  Weeping. — A  soul  under  special  mani- 
festations of  love  weeps  that  it  can  love  Christ  no  more. 
Mr.  Welch,  a  Suffolk  minister,  weeping  at  table,  and 
being  asked  the  reason  of  it,  answered  it  was  because  he 
could  love  Christ  no  more.  The  true  lovers  of  Christ  can 
never  rise  high  enough  in  their  love  to  Christ.  They 
count  a  little  love  to  be  no  love,  great  love  to  be  but  little, 


ANECDOTES  PROM  THE  PULPIT.      43 

strong  love  to  be  but  weak,  and  the  highest  love  to  be 
infinitely  below  the  worth  of  Christ,  the  beauty  and  glory 
of  Christ,  the  fulness,  sweetness,  and  goodness  of  Christ. 

fThe  top  of  their  misery  in  this  life  is  that  they  love  so  little 
though  they  are  so  much  beloved. 

Submissive  Silence. — Such  was  the  silence  of  Philip 
the  Second,  King  of  Spain,  that  when  his  Invincible  Ar- 
mada, that  had  been  three  years  a -fitting,  was  lost,  he 
gave  command  that  all  over  Spain  they  should  give 
thanks  to  God  and  the  saints  that  it  was  no  more 
gi'ievous. 

Thomas  Adants,  the  Conforming  Puritan, 
whose  sermons  are  full  of  rugged  force  and 
profound  meaning,  never  hesitated  to  insert 
a  story  when  he  felt  that  it  would  enforce  his 
teaching.  His  starting-point  is  ever  some 
Biblical  sentence,  or  scriptural  history;  and 
this  he  works  out  with  much  elaboration, 
bringing  to  it  all  the  treasures  of  his  mind. 
As  Stowell  says,  "  Fables,  anecdotes,  classical 
poetry,  gems  from  the  fathers  and  other  old 
writers,  are  scattered  over  almost  every  page." 
His  anecdotes  are  usually  rough-and-ready 
ones,  and  might  be  compared  to  those  of  Lati- 
mer, only  they  are  not  so  genial ;  their  humor 
is  generally  grim  and  caustic.  The  following 
may  serve  as  fair  specimens : 

The  Husband  and  His  Witty  Wife. — The  husband 
told  his  wife  that  he  had  one  ill  quality — he  was  given  to     \ 
be  angry  without  cause.     She  wittily  replied  that  she 


44  THE  ART   OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

would  keep  him  from  that  fault,  for  she  would  give  him 
cause  enough.  It  is  the  folly  of  some  that  they  will  be 
offended  without  cause,  to  whom  the  world  promises  that 
they  shall  have  causes  enough — "  In  the  world  ye  shall 
have  tribulation." 

The  Servant  at  the  Sermon. — It  is  ordinary  with 
many  to  commend  the  lecture  to  others'  ears,  but  few 
commend  it  to  their  own  hearts.  It  is  morally  true  what 
the  Christian  Tell- Truth  relates:  A  servant  coming  from 
church  praiseth  the  sermon  to  his  master.  He  asks  him 
what  was  the  text.  "Nay,"  quoth  the  servant,  ''it  was 
begun  before  I  came  in."  "  What,  then,  was  his  conclu- 
sion ?"  He  answered,  ''  I  came  out  before  it  was  done." 
"  But  what  said  he  in  the  midst?"  "  Indeed  I  was  asleep 
in  the  midst."  Many  crowd  to  get  into  the  church,  but 
make  no  room  for  the  sermon  to  get  into  them. 

WilUmn  GuniaU,  the  author  of  "  The  Chris- 
tian in  Complete  Armor,"  must  surely  have 
been  a  relater  of  pertnient  stories  in  his  ser- 
mons, since  even  in  his  set  and  solid  writings 
they  occur.  Perhaps  I  need  not  have  made 
the  distinction  between  his  writings  and  his 
preaching,  for  it  appears  from  the  preface 
that  his  "  Christian  in  Complete  Armor  "  was 
preached  before  it  was  printed.  In  vivid  im- 
agery every  page  of  his  famous  book  abounds, 
and  whenever  this  is  the  case  we  are  sure  to 
light  upon  short  narratives  and  striking  inci- 
dents. He  is  as  profuse  in  illustration  as 
either  Brooks,  Watson,  or  Swinnock.  Happy 
Lavenham,  to  have  been  served  by  such  a 


ANECDOTES  FKOM  THE  PULPIT.       45 

pastor!  By  the  way,  this  "Complete  Ar- 
mor "  is  beyond  all  others  a  preacher's  book : 
I  should  think  that  more  discourses  have  been 
suggested  by  it  than  by  any  other  uninspired 
volume.  I  have  often  resorted  to  it  when  my 
own  fire  has  l)een  burning  low,  and  I  have 
seldom  failed  to  find  a  glowing  coal  upon  Gur- 
nall's  hearth.  John  Newton  said  that  if  he 
might  rea,d  only  one  book  beside  the  Bible,  he 
would  choose  "  The  Christian  in  Complete 
Armor,"  and  Cecil  was  of  much  the  same 
opinion.  J.  C.  Ryle  has  said  of  it,  "  You  will 
often  find  in  a  line  and  a  half  some  great 
truth,  put  so  concisely,  and  yet  so  fully,  that 
you  really  marvel  how  so  much  thought  could 
be  got  into  so  few  words."  One  or  two  stories 
from  the  early  part  of  his  great  work  must 
suffice  for  our  purpose. 

Bird  Safe  in  a  Man's  Bosom. — A  heathen  coiild  say 
when  a  bird  (feared  ])y  a  hawk)  flew  into  his  bosom,  "  I 
will  not  betray  thee  unto  thine  enemy,  seeing  thon  comest 
for  sanctuary  unto  me."  How  much  less  will  God  yield 
up  a  soul  unto  its  enemy  when  it  takes  sanctuary  in  his 
name,  saying",  "  Lord,  I  am  hunted  with  such  a  tempta- 
tion, dogged  with  such  a  lust ;  either  thou  must  pardon 
it,  or  I  am  damned  ;  mortify  it,  or  I  shall  be  a  slave  to  it ; 
take  me  into  the  bosom  of  thy  love  for  Christ's  sake ; 
castle  me  in  the  arras  of  thy  everlasting  strength.  It  is 
in  thy  power  to  save  me  from  or  give  me  up  into  the 
hands  of  my  enemy.  I  have  no  confidence  in  myself  or 
any  other.     Into  thy  hands  I  commit  my  cause,  my  life, 


46  THE  AET   OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

and  rely  on  thee."  This  dependence  of  a  soul  undoubt- 
edly will  awaken  the  almighty  power  of  God  for  such  a 
one's  defense.  He  hath  sworn  the  greatest  oath  that  can 
come  out  of  his  blessed  Hps,  even  by  himself,  that  such  as 
'^  flee  for  refuge"  to  hope  in  him  shall  have  "  strong  con- 
solation "  (Heb.  vi.  17, 18). 

The  Prince  with  His  Fajviily  in  Danger.— Suppose 
a  king's  son  should  get  out  of  a  besieged  city  where  he 
hath  left  his  wife  and  children,  whom  he  loves  as  his  own 
soul,  and  these  all  ready  to  die  by  sword  or  famine,  if  sup- 
ply come  not  the  sooner.  Could  this  prince,  when  arrived 
at  his  father's  house,  please  himself  with  the  delights  of 
the  court  and  forget  the  distress  of  his  family'?  or  rather 
would  he  not  come  post  to  his  father,  having  their  cries 
and  groans  always  in  his  ears,  and  before  he  ate  or  drank 
do  his  errand  to  his  father,  and  entreat  him  if  he  ever 
loved  him  that  he  would  send  aU  the  force  of  his  kingdom 
to  raise  the  siege  rather  than  any  of  his  dear  relations 
should  perish  ?  Surely,  sirs,  though  Christ  be  in  the  top 
of  his  preferment  and  out  of  the  storm  in  regard  of  his 
own  person,  yet  his  children,  left  behind  in  the  midst  of 
sin's,  Satan's,  and  the  world's  batteries,  are  in  his  heart, 
and  shall  not  be  forgotten  a  moment  by  him.  The  care 
he  takes  in  our  business  appeared  in  the  speedy  despatch 
he  made  of  his  spirit  to  his  apostles'  supply,  which,  as  soon 
almost  as  he  was  warm  in  his  seat  at  his  Father's  right 
hand,  he  sent,  to  the  incomparable  comfort  of  his  apos- 
tles and  us  that  to  this  day — yea,  to  the  end  of  the  world 
— do  or  shall  believe  on  him. 

John  Flavel  was  greatest  in  metaphor  and 
allegory;  but  in  the  matter  of  anecdote  his 
preaching  is  a  fine  example.  It  was  said  of 
his  ministry  that  he  who  was  unaffected  by  it 


ANECDOTES  FROM  THE  PULPIT.      47 

must  either  have  had  a  very  soft  head  or  a 
very  hard  heart.  He  had  a  fund  of  striking 
incidents,  and  a  faculty  of  happy  illustration, 
and  as  he  was  a  man  in  whose  manner  cheer- 
fulness was  blended  with  solemnity,  he  was 
popular  in  the  highest  degree  both  at  home  and 
abroad.  He  sought  out  words  which  might 
suit  the  sailors  of  Dartmouth  and  farmers  of 
Devon,  and  therefore  he  has  left  behind  him 
his  "  Navigation  Spiritualized,"  and  his  "  Hus- 
bandry Spiritualized,"  a  legacy  for  each  of  the 
two  orders  of  men  who  plow  the  sea  and  the 
land.  He  was  a  man  worth  making  a  pilgrim- 
age to  hear.  What  a  crime  it  was  to  silence 
his  heaven-touched  lips  by  the  abominable  Act 
of  Uniformity !  Instead  of  quoting  several 
jiassages  from  his  sermons,  each  one  contain- 
ing an  anecdote,  I  have  thought  it  as  well  to 
give  a  mass  of  stories  as  we  find  them  in  his 
prelections  upon 

Providence  in  Conversion.— A  scrap  of  paper  acci- 
dentally coming  to  view  hath  been  used  as  an  occasion  of 
conversion.  This  was  the  case  of  a  minister  of  Wales  who 
had  two  livings  but  took  little  care  of  either.  He,  being 
at  a  fair,  bought  something  at  a  peddler's  standing,  and 
rent  off  a  leaf  of  Mr.  Perkins'  catechism  to  wrap  it  in,  and 
reading  a  line  or  two  of  it,  God  sent  it  home  so  as  it  did 
the  work. 

The  marriage  of  a  godly  man  into  a  carnal  family  hath 
been  ordered  by  Providence  for  the  conversion  and  sal- 


48  THE  ART   OF   ILLUSTRATION. 

vation  of  many  therein.  Thus  we  read  in  the  life  of  that 
renowned  EngUsh  worthy,  Mr.  John  Bruen,  that  in  his 
second  match  it  was  agreed  that  he  should  have  one  year's 
diet  in  his  mother-in-law's  house.  During  his  abode  there 
that  year,  saith  Mr.  Clark,  the  Lord  was  pleased  by  his 
means  graciously  to  work  upon  her  soul,  as  also  upon  his 
wife's  sister  and  half-sister,  their  brothers,  Mr.  William 
and  Mr.  Thomas  Fox,  with  one  or  two  of  the  servants  in 
that  family. 

Not  only  the  reading  of  a  book  or  hearing  of  a  minis- 
ter, but— which  is  most  remarkable — the  very  mistake  or 
forgetfulness  of  a  minister  hath  been  improved  by  Provi- 
dence for  this  end  and  purpose.  Augustine,  once  preach- 
ing to  his  congregation,  forgot  the  argument  which  he 
first  proposed,  and  fell  upon  the  errors  of  the  Maiiichees 
beside  his  first  intention,  by  which  discourse  he  converted 
one  Firmus,  his  auditor,  who  fell  down  at  his  feet  weep- 
ing and  confessing  he  had  lived  a  Manichee  many  years. 
Another  I  knew  who,  going  to  preach,  took  up  another 
Bible  than  that  he  had  designed,  in  which,  not  only  miss- 
ing his  notes  but  the  chapter  also  in  which  his  text  lay, 
was  put  to  some  loss  thereby.  But  after  a  short  pause  he 
resolved  to  speak  about  any  other  Scripture  that  might  be 
presented  to  him,  and  accordingly  read  the  text,  '^The 
Lord  is  not  slack  concerning  his  promise  "  (2  Pet.  iii.  9) ; 
and  though  he  had  nothing  prepared,  yet  the  Lord  helped 
him  to  speak  both  methodically  and  pertinently  from  it, 
by  which  discourse  a  gracious  change  was  wrought  upon 
one  in  the  congregation,  who  hath  since  given  good  evi- 
dence of  a  sound  conversion,  and  acknowledged  this  ser- 
mon to  be  the  first  and  only  means  thereof. 

George  Swinnock,  for  some  years  chaplain  to 
Hampden,  had  the  gift  of  illustration  largely 
developed,  as  his  works  prove.     Some  of  his 


ANECDOTES  FROM  THE  PULPIT.       49 

similes  are  far-fetched,  and  the  growth  of 
knowledge  has  rendered  certain  of  them  obso- 
lete ;  but  they  served  his  purpose,  and  made 
his  teaching  attractive.  After  deducting  all 
his  fancies,  which  in  the  present  age  would  be 
judged  to  be  strained,  there  remains  "a  rare 
amount  of  sanctified  wit  and  wisdom";  and 
sparkling  here  and  there  we  spy  out  a  few 
telling  stories,  mostly  of  classic  origin. 

The  Prayer  of  Paulinus.— It  was  the  speech  of  Paul- 
inus  when  his  city  was  taken  by  the  liarbarians,  ^^Bomine, 
ne  excrucier  oh  anriim  et  argent  urn'''  ("Lord,  let  me  not  he 
troubled  for  my  silver  and  gold  which  I  have  lost,  for  thou 
art  aU  things").  As  Noah,  when  the  whole  world  was 
overwhelmed  with  water,  had  a  fair  epitome  of  it  in  the 
ark,  having  all  sorts  of  beasts  and  fowls  there,  so  he  that 
in  a  deluge  hath  God  to  be  his  God  hath  the  original  of 
all  mercies.  He  who  enjoyetli  the  ocean  may  rejoice^ 
though  some  drops  are  taken  from  him. 

Queen  Elizabeth  and  the  Milicviaid.— Queen  Ehza- 
beth  envied  the  milkmaid  when  she  was  in  prison,  but  had 
she  known  the  glorious  reign  which  she  was  to  have  for 
forty-four  years  she  would  not  have  repined  at  the  poor 
happiness  of  so  mean  a  person.  Christians  are  too  prone 
to  envy  the  husks  which  wandering  sinners  fill  themselves 
with  here  below ;  but  would  they  set  before  them  their 
glorious  hopes  of  a  heaven,  how  they  must  reign  with 
Christ  forever  and  ever,  they  would  see  little  reason  for 
their  repining. 

The  Believing  Child.— I  have  read  a  story  of  a  little 
child  about  eight  or  nine  years  old,  that,  being  extremely 
pinched  with  hunger,  looked  one  day  pitifully  necessitous 


50  THE  AET   OF   ILLUSTRATION. 

on  her  mother,  and  said,  "  Mother,  do  you  think  that  Grod 
will  starve  us?"  The  mother  answered,  ''No,  child j  he 
will  not."  The  child  replied,  "  But  if  he  do,  yet  we  must 
love  him  and  serve  him."  Here  was  language  that  spake 
a  well-grown  Christian.  For,  indeed,  God  brings  us  to 
want  and  misery  to  try  us  whether  we  love  him  for  his 
own  sake  or  for  our  own  sakes,  for  those  excellencies  that 
are  in  him  or  for  those  mercies  we  have  from  him,  to  see 
whether  we  will  say  with  the  cynic  to  Antisthenes,  ^'Nul- 
lus  tarn  durus  erit  baculus,^^  etc.  ("  There  should  be  no  cud- 
gel so  crabbed  as  to  beat  me  from  thee  "). 

Thomas  Watson  was  one  of  the  many  Puri- 
tan preachers  who  won  the  popular  ear  by 
their  frequent  illustrations.  In  the  clear  flow- 
ing stream  of  his  teaching  we  find  pearls  of 
anecdote  very  frequently.  No  one  ever  grew 
weary  under  such  pleasant  yet  weighty  dis- 
course as  that  which  we  find  in  his  "Beati- 
tudes." Let  two  quotations  serve  to  show  his 
skill: 

The  Vestal  and  the  Bracelets. — Most  men  think 
because  God  hath  blessed  them  with  an  estate  therefore 
they  are  blessed.  Alas  !  God  often  gives  these  things  in 
anger.  He  loads  his  enemies  with  gold  and  silver:  as 
Plutarch  reports  of  Tarpeia,  a  Vestal  nun,  who  bargained 
with  the  enemy  to  betray  the  Capitol  of  Rome  to  them  in 
case  she  might  have  the  golden  bracelets  on  their  left 
hands,  which  they  promised ;  and  being  entered  into  the 
Capitol,  they  threw  not  only  their  bracelets  but  their 
bucklers,  too,  upon  her,  through  the  weight  whereof  she 
was  pressed  to  death.  God  often  lets  men  have  the 
golden  bracelets  of  worldly  substance,  the  weight  where- 


ANECDOTES  FROM  THE  PULPIT.      51 

of  sinks  them  into  hell.  Oh,  let  us,  superna  anhelare,  get 
our  eyes  "fixed"  and  our  hearts  "united"  to  God  the 
supreme  good.  This  is  to  pursue  blessedness  as  in  a 
chase. 

Hedgehog  and  Conies. — The  Fabulist  tells  a  story  of 
the  hedgehog  that  came  to  the  cony-burrows  in  stormy 
weather  and  desired  harbor,  promising  that  he  would  be 
a  quiet  guest  5  but  when  once  he  had  gotten  entertain- 
ment he  did  set  up  his  prickles,  and  did  never  leave  till 
he  had  thrust  the  poor  conies  out  of  their  burrows.  So 
covetousness,  though  it  hath  many  fair  pleas  to  insinuate 
and  wind  itself  into  the  heart,  yet  as  soon  as  you  have  let 
it  in,  this  thorn  will  never  cease  pricking  till  it  hath  choked 
all  good  beginnings  and  thrust  all  religion  out  of  your 
hearts. 

I  think  this  must  suffice  to  represent  the 
men  of  the  Puritanic  period,  who  added  to 
their  profound  theology  and  varied  learning 
a  zeal  to  be  understood,  and  a  skill  in  setting 
forth  truth  by  the  help  of  every-day  occur- 
rences. The  age  which  followed  them  was 
barren  of  spiritual  life,  and  was  afflicted  by  a 
race  of  rhetorical  divines,  whose  words  had 
little  connection  with  the  Word  of  life.  The 
scanty  thought  of  the  Queen  Anne  dignitaries 
needed  no  aid  of  metaphor  or  parable:  there 
was  nothing  to  explain  to  the  people ;  the  ut- 
most endeavor  of  these  divines  was  to  hide 
the  nakedness  of  their  discourses  with  the  fig- 
leaves  of  Latinized  verbiage.  Living  preach- 
ing was  gone,  spiritual  life  was  gone,  and  con- 


52  THE  ABT  OF  ILLUSTBATION. 

sequently  a  pulpit  was  set  up  which  had  no 
voice  for  the  common  people ;  no  voice,  indeed, 
for  anybody  except  the  mere  formalist,  who  is 
content  if  decorum  be  observed  and  respecta- 
bility maintained.  Of  course,  our  notion  of 
making  truth  clear  by  stories  did  not  suit  the 
dignified  death  of  the  period,  and  it  was  only 
when  the  dry  bones  began  to  be  stirred  that 
the  popular  method  was  again  brought  to  the 
front. 

The  illustrious  George  Whitefield  stands,  with 
Wesley,  at  the  head  of  that  noble  army  who 
led  the  Revival  of  the  last  century.  It  is  not 
at  this  present  any  part  of  my  plan  to  speak 
of  his  matchless  eloquence,  unquenchable  ear- 
nestness, and  incessant  labor ;  but  it  is  quite 
according  to  the  run  of  my  lecture  to  remind 
you  of  his  own  saying,  "I  use  market  lan- 
guage." He  employed  pure,  good,  flowing 
English ;  but  he  was  as  simple  as  if  he  spoke 
to  children.  Although  by  no  means  abound- 
ing in  illustration,  yet  he  always  employed  it 
when  needed,  and  he  narrated  incidents  with 
great  power  of  action  and  emphasis.  His 
stories  were  so  told  that  they  thrilled  the  peo- 
ple :  they  saw  as  well  as  heard,  for  each  word 
had  its  proper  gesture.  One  reason  why  he 
could  be  understood  at  so  great  a  distance 
was  the  fact  that  the  eye  helped  the  ear.    As 


ANECDOTES  FROM  THE  PULPIT.      53 

specimens  of  his  anecdotes  I  have  selected 
two,  which  follow : 

The  Two  Chaplains.— You  cannot  do  without  the 
grace  of  God  when  you  come  to  die.  There  was  a  noble- 
man that  kept  a  deistical  chaplain  and  his  lady  a  Chris- 
tian one.  When  he  was  dying  he  says  to  his  chaplain,  "  I 
liked  you  very  well  when  I  was  in  health,  but  it  is  my 
lady's  chaplain  I  must  have  when  I  am  sick." 

Never  Satisfied.— My  dear  hearers,  there  is  not  a 
single  soul  of  you  all  that  is  satisfied  in  your  station. 
Is  not  the  language  of  your  hearts  when  apprentices,  We 
think  we  shall  do  very  well  when  journeymen ;  when  jour- 
neymen, that  we  shall  do  very  well  when  masters ;  when 
single,  that  we  shall  do  well  when  married  ?  And,  to  be 
sui*e,  you  think  you  shall  do  well  when  you  keep  a  car- 
riage. I  have  heard  of  one  who  began  low.  He  first 
wanted  a  house  j  then,  says  he,  '^I  want  two,  then  four, 
then  six."  And  when  he  had  them  he  said,  ^'  I  think  I 
want  nothing  else."  '^Yes,"  says  his  friend,  '^you  will 
soon  want  another  thing;  that  is  a  hearse-and-six  to 
carry  you  to  your  grave."    And  that  made  him  tremble. 

Fearing  that  the  quotation  of  any  more  ex- 
amples might  prove  tedious,  I  would  only  re- 
mind you  that  such  men  as  Berridge,  Rowland 
Hill,  Matthew  Wilks,  Christmas  Evans, William 
Jay,  and  others  who  have  but  lately  departed 
from  us,  owed  much  of  their  attractiveness  to 
the  way  in  which  they  aroused  their  audiences, 
and  flashed  truth  into  their  faces  by  well- 
chosen  anecdotes.  Time  calls  upon  me  to 
have  done,  and  how  can  I  come  to  a  better 


54  THE  ART  OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

close  than  by  mentioning  one  living  man,  who, 
above  all  others,  has  in  two  continents  stirred 
the  masses  of  the  people?  I  refer  to  D.  L. 
Moody.  This  admirable  brother  has  a  great 
aversion  to  the  printing  of  his  sermons;  and 
well  he  may  have,  for  he  is  incessantly  preach- 
ing, and  has  no  time  allowed  him  for  the  prep- 
aration of  fresh  discourses;  and  therefore  it 
would  be  great  unwisdom  on  his  part  to  print 
at  once  those  addresses  with  which  he  is  work- 
ing through  a  campaign.  We  hope,  however, 
that  when  he  has  done  with  a  sermon  he  will 
never  suffer  it  to  die  out,  but  give  it  to  the 
church  and  to  the  world  through  the  press. 
Our  esteemed  brother  has  a  lively,  telling  style, 
and  he  thinks  it  wise  frequently  to  fasten  a 
nail  with  the  hammer  of  anecdote.  Here  are 
three  extracts  from  the  little  book  entitled 
"  Arrows  and  Anecdotes  by  D.  L.  Moody .'^ 

The  Idiot's  Mother. — I  know  a  mother  wlio  has  an 
idiot  child.  For  it  she  gave  up  all  society — almost  every- 
thing— and  devoted  her  whole  life  to  it.  **And  now," 
said  she,  *'  for  fourteen  years  I  have  tended  it  and  loved 
it,  and  it  does  not  even  know  me.  Oh,  it  is  breaking  my 
heart ! "  Oh,  how  the  Lord  must  say  this  of  hundreds 
here !  Jesus  comes  here,  and  goes  from  seat  to  seat  ask- 
ing if  there  is  a  place  for  him.  Oh,  will  not  some  of  you 
take  him  into  your  hearts  *? 

Surgeon  and  Patient. — When  I  was  in  Belfast  I 
knew  a  doctor  who  had  a  friend,  a  leading  surgeon  there. 


ANECDOTES  FROM  THE  PULPIT.      55 

and  he  told  me  that  the  surgeon's  custom  was,  before  per- 
forming any  operation,  to  say  to  the  patient,  ^*  Take  a 
good  look  at  the  wound  and  then  fix  youi'  eyes  on  me,  and 
don't  take  them  off  till  I  get  through  the  operation."  I 
thought  at  the  time  that  was  a  good  illustration.  Sinner, 
take  a  good  look  at  the  wound  to-night,  and  then  fix  your 
eyes  on  Christ  and  don't  take  them  off.  It  is  better  to 
look  at  the  remedy  than  at  the  wound. 

The  Roll- Call. — A  soldier  lay  on  his  dying  couch 
during  our  last  war,  and  they  heard  him  say,  ''  Here ! " 
They  asked  him  what  he  wanted,  and  he  put  up  his  hand 
and  said,  "Hush!  They  are  calUng  the  roll  of  heaven, 
and  I  am  answering  to  my  name."  And  presently  he 
whispered,  '^  Here ! "  and  he  was  gone. 

I  will  weary  you  no  longer.  You  may  safe- 
ly do  what  the  most  useful  of  men  have  done 
before  you.  Copy  them  not  only  in  their  use 
of  illustration,  but  in  their  wisely  keeping  it 
in  subservience  to  their  design.  They  were 
not  story-tellers,  but  preachers  of  the  gospel ; 
they  did  not  aim  at  the  entertainment  of  the 
people,  but  at  their  conversion.  Never  did 
they  go  out  of  their  way  to  drag  in  a  telling 
bit  which  they  had  been  saving  up  for  display, 
and  never  could  any  one  say  of  their  illustra- 
tions that  they  were 

Windows  that  exclude  the  light, 
And  passages  that  lead  to  nothing. 

Keep  you  the  due  proportion  of  things  lest  I 
do  worse  than  lose  my  labor,  by  becoming  the 


56  THE  ART  OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

cause  of  your  presenting  to  the  people  strings 
of  anecdotes  instead  of  sound  doctrines,  for 
that  would  be  as  evil  a  thing  as  if  you  offered 
to  hungry  men  flowers  instead  of  bread,  and 
gave  to  the  naked  gauze  of  gossamer  instead 
of  woolen  cloth. 


LECTURE  III. 

THE   USES   OF  ANECDOTES  AND   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

The  uses  of  anecdotes  and  illustrations  are 
manifold ;  but  we  may  reduce  them  to  seven, 
so  far  as  our  present  purposes  are  concerned, 
not  for  a  moment  imagining  that  this  will  be 
a  complete  list. 

We  use  them,  first,  to  interest  the  mind  and 
secure  the  attention  of  our  hearers.  We  cannot 
endure  a  sleepy  audience.  To  us,  a  slumber- 
ing man  is  no  man.  Sydney  Smith  observed 
that,  although  Eve  was  taken  out  of  the  side 
of  Adam  while  he  was  asleep,  it  was  not  pos- 
sible to  remove  sin  from  men's  hearts  in  that 
manner.  We  do  not  agree  with  Hodge,  the 
hedger  and  ditcher,  who  remarked  to  a  Chris- 
tian man  with  whom  he  was  talking,  "  I  loikes 
Sunday,  I  does ;  I  loikes  Sunday."  "  And  what 
makes  you  like  Sunday?"  "'Cause,  you  see, 
it's  a  day  of  rest:  I  goes  down  to  the  old 
church,  I  gets  into  a  pew,  and  puts  my  legs 
up,  and  I  thinks  o'  nothin'. "    It  is  to  be  feared 

57 


58  THE  AET   OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

that  in  town  as  well  as  in  country  this  think- 
ing of  nothing  is  a  very  usual  thing.  But 
your  regard  for  the  sacred  day,  and  the  minis- 
try to  which  you  are  called,  and  the  worship- 
ing assembly,  will  not  allow  you  to  give  your 
people  the  chance  of  thinking  of  nothing.  You 
want  to  arouse  every  faculty  in  them  to  receive 
the  Word  of  God,  that  it  may  be  a  blessing  to 
them. 

We  want  to  win  attention  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  service,  and  to  hold  it  till  the 
close.  With  this  aim,  many  methods  may  be 
tried;  but  possibly  none  will  succeed  better 
than  the  introduction  of  an  interesting  story. 
This  sets  Hodge  listening,  and  although  he 
will  miss  the  fresh  air  of  the  fields,  and  begin 
to  feel  drowsy  in  your  stuffy  chapel,  another 
tale  will  stir  him  to  renewed  attention.  If  he 
hears  some  narrative  in  connection  with  his  vil- 
lage or  county,  you  will  have  him  "  all  there," 
and  you  may  then  hope  to  do  him  good. 

The  anecdote  in  the  sermon  answers  the 
purpose  of  an  engraving  in  a  book.  Every- 
body knows  that  people  are  attracted  by  vol- 
umes with  pictures  in  them ;  and  that,  when  a 
child  gets  a  book,  although  it  may  pass  over 
the  letterpress  without  observation,  it  is  quite 
sure  to  pause  over  the  woodcuts.  Let  us  not 
be  too  great  to  use  a  method  which  many 


ANECDOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.      59 

have  found  successful.  We  must  have  atten- 
tion. In  some  audiences  we  cannot  get  it  if 
we  begin  with  solid  instruction ;  they  are  not 
desirous  of  being  taught,  and  consequently 
they  are  not  in  a  condition  to  receive  the  truth 
if  we  set  it  before  them  nakedly.  Now  for  a 
bunch  of  flowers  to  attract  these  people  to  our 
table,  for  afterward  we  can  feed  them  with 
the  food  they  so  much  need.  Just  as  the  Sal- 
vation Army  goes  trumpeting  and  drumming 
through  the  streets  to  draw  the  people  into 
the  barracks,  so  may  an  earnest  man  spend 
the  first  few  minutes  with  an  unprepared  con- 
gregation in  waking  the  folks  up,  and  enticing 
them  to  enter  the  inner  chamber  of  the  truth. 
Even  this  awakening  prelude  must  have  in  it 
that  which  is  worthy  of  the  occasion ;  but  if  it 
is  not  up  to  your  usual  average  in  weight  of 
doctrine,  it  may  not  only  be  excused,  but  com- 
mended, if  it  prepares  the  audience  to  receive 
that  which  is  to  follow.  Ground-bait  may 
catch  no  fish ;  but  it  answers  its  purpose  if  it 
brings  them  near  the  bait  and  the  hook. 

A  congi^egation  which  has  been  well  in- 
structed, and  is  mainly  made  up  of  established 
believers,  will  not  need  to  be  addressed  in  the 
same  style  as  an  audience  gathered  fresh  from 
the  world,  or  a  meeting  of  dull,  formal  church- 
goers.    Your  common  sense  will  teach  you  to 


60  THE  ART  OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

suit  your  manner  to  your  audience.  It  is  pos- 
sible to  maintain  profound  and  long-continued 
attention  without  the  use  of  an  illustration ; 
I  have  frequently  done  so  in  the  Tabernacle 
when  it  has  been  mainly  filled  with  chui'ch- 
members ;  but  when  my  own  people  are  away, 
and  strangers  fill  their  places,  I  bring  out  all 
my  store  of  stories,  similes,  and  parables. 

I  have  sometimes  told  anecdotes  in  the  pul- 
pit, and  very  delicate  and  particular  people 
have  expressed  their  regret  and  horror  that  I 
should  say  such  things ;  but  when  I  have  found 
that  God  has  blessed  some  of  the  illustrations 
I  have  used,  I  have  often  thought  of  the  story 
of  the  man  with  a  halberd,  who  was  attacked 
by  a  nobleman's  dog,  and,  of  course,  in  defend- 
ing himself,  he  killed  the  animal.  The  noble- 
man was  very  angry,  and  asked  the  man  how 
he  dared  to  kill  the  dog ;  and  the  man  replied 
that  if  he  had  not  killed  it  the  dog  would  have 
bitten  him  and  torn  him  in  pieces.  "  Well," 
said  the  nobleman,  "  but  you  should  not  have 
struck  it  on  the  head  with  the  halberd ;  why 
did  you  not  hit  it  with  the  handle?"  "My 
lord,"  answered  the  man,  "  so  I  would  if  it  had 
tried  to  bite  me  with  its  tail."  So,  when  I 
have  to  deal  with  sin,  some  people  say,  "  Why 
don't  you  address  it  delicately?  Why  don't 
you  speak  to  it  in  courtly  language  ? "    And  I 


ANECDOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.     61 

answer,  *^  So  I  would  if  it  would  bite  me  with 
its  tail ;  but  as  long  as  ever  I  find  that  it  deals 
roughly  with  me,  I  will  deal  roughly  with  it ; 
and  any  kind  of  weapon  that  will  help  to  slay 
the  monster,  I  shall  not  find  unfitted  to  my 
hand." 

We  cannot  afford  in  these  days  to  lose  any 
opportunity  of  getting  hold  of  the  public  ear. 
We  must  use  every  occasion  that  comes  in 
our  way,  and  every  tool  that  is  likely  to  help 
us  in  our  work ;  and  we  must  rouse  up  all  our 
faculties,  and  put  forth  all  our  energies,  if  that 
by  any  means  we  may  get  the  people  to  heed 
that  which  they  are  so  slow  to  regard,  the 
great  story  of  righteousness,  temperance,  and 
judgment  to  come.  We  shall  need  to  read 
much,  and  to  study  hard,  or  else  we  shall  not 
be  able  to  influence  our  day  and  generation 
for  good*  I  believe  that  the  greatest  industry 
is  necessary  to  make  a  thoroughly  efficient 
preacher,  and  the  best  natural  ability,  too; 
and  it  is  my  firm  conviction  that,  when  you 
have  the  best  natural  ability,  you  must  sup- 
plement it  with  the  greatest  imaginable  indus- 
try, if  you  are  really  to  do  much  service  for  God 
among  this  crooked  and  perverse  generation. 

The  fool  in  Scotland  who  got  into  the  pulpit 
before  the  preacher  arrived  was  requested  by 
the  minister  to  come  down.    "  Nay,  nay,"  an- 


62  THE   ART   OF   ILLUSTRATION. 

swered  the  man,  "  you  come  up,  too,  for  it  will 
take  both  of  us  to  move  this  stiff-necked  gen- 
eration." It  will  certainly  take  all  the  wisdom 
that  we  can  obtain  to  move  the  people  among 
whom  our  lot  is  cast;  and  if  we  do  not  use 
every  lawful  means  of  interesting  the  minds 
of  our  hearers,  we  shall  find  that  they  will  be 
like  a  certain  other  congregation,  in  which  the 
people  were  all  asleep  except  one  poor  idiot. 
The  minister  woke  them  up,  and  tried  to  re- 
prove them  by  saying,  "  There,  you  were  all 
asleep  except  poor  Jock  the  idiot ;  "  but  his  re- 
buke was  cut  short  by  Jock,  who  exclaimed, 
"And  if  I  had  not  been  an  idiot,  I  should  have 
been  asleep  too." 

I  will  leave  the  moral  of  that  well-known 
story  to  speak  for  itself,  and  will  pass  on  to  my 
second  point,  which  is,  that  the  use  of  anec- 
dotes and  illustrations  renders  our  preaching 
lifelike  and  vivid.  This  is  a  most  important 
matter.  Of  all  things  that  we  have  to  avoid, 
one  of  the  most  essential  is  that  of  giving  our 
people  the  idea,  when  we  are  preaching,  that 
we  are  acting  a  part.  Everything  theatrical 
in  the  pulpit,  either  in  tone,  manner,  or  any- 
thing else,  I  loathe  from  my  very  soul.  Just 
go  into  the  pulpit  and  talk  to  the  people  as 
you  would  in  the  kitchen,  or  the  drawing- 
room,  and  say  what  you  have  to  tell  them  in 


ANECDOTES  AND  ILLUSTEATIONS.      63 

your  ordinary  tone  of  voice.  Let  me  conjure 
you,  by  everything  that  is  good,  to  throw 
away  all  stilted  styles  of  speech,  and  anything 
approaching  affectation.  Nothing  can  succeed 
with  the  masses  except  naturalness  and  sim- 
plicity. Why,  some  ministers  cannot  even  give 
out  a  hymn  in  a  natural  manner!  "Let  us 
sing  to  the  praise  and  glory  of  God  "  (spoken 
in  the  tone  that  is  sometimes  heard  in  churches 
or  chapels) — who  would  ever  think  of  speak- 
ing like  that  at  the  tea-table?  "I  shall  be 
greatly  obliged  if  you  will  kindly  give  me  an- 
other cup  of  tea  "  (spoken  in  the  same  unnatu- 
ral way) — you  would  never  think  of  giving 
any  tea  to  a  man  who  talked  like  that ;  and  if 
we  preach  in  that  stupid  style,  the  people  will 
not  believe  what  we  say ;  they  will  think  it  is 
our  business,  our  occupation,  and  that  we  are 
doing  the  whole  thing  in  a  professional  man- 
ner. We  must  shake  off  professionalism  of 
every  kind,  as  Paul  shook  off  the  viper  into 
the  fire ;  and  we  must  speak  as  God  has  or- 
dained that  we  should  speak,  and  not  by  any 
strange,  out-of-the-way,  new-fangled  method 
of  pulpit  oratory. 

Our  Lord's  teaching  was  amazingly  lifelike 
and  vivid ;  it  was  the  setting  out  of  truth  be- 
fore the  eye,  not  as  a  flat  picture,  but  as  in  a 
stereoscope,  making  it  stand  up,  with  all  its 


64  THE   AKT   OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

lines  and  angles  of  beauty  in  lifelike  reality. 
That  was  a  fine  living  sermon  when  he  took  a 
little  child,  and  set  him  in  the  midst  of  the 
disciples ;  and  that  was  another  powerful  dis- 
course when  he  preached  about  abstaining 
from  carking  cares,  and  stooped  down  and 
plucked  a  lily  (as  I  suppose  he  did)  and  said, 
"Consider  the  lilies  of  the  field,  how  they 
grow ;  they  toil  not,  neither  do  they  spin."  I 
can  readily  suppose  that  some  ravens  were 
flying  just  over  his  head,  and  that  he  pointed 
to  them,  and  said,  "  Consider  the  ravens ;  for 
they  neither  sow  nor  reap ;  which  neither  have 
storehouse  nor  barn ;  and  God  feedeth  them." 
There  was  a  lifelikenessj  you  see,  a  vividness, 
about  the  whole  thing.  We  cannot  always 
literally  imitate  our  Lord,  as  we  have  mostly 
to  preach  in  places  of  worship.  It  is  a  bless- 
ing that  we  have  so  many  houses  of  prayer, 
and  I  thank  God  that  there  are  so  many  of 
them  springing  up  all  around  us ;  yet  I  should 
praise  the  Lord  still  more  if  half  the  ministers 
who  preach  in  our  various  buildings  were 
made  to  turn  out  of  them,  and  to  speak  for 
their  Master  in  the  highways  and  byways,  and 
anywhere  that  the  people  would  go  to  listen  to 
them.  We  are  to  go  out  into  all  the  world, 
and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature — not 
to  stop  in  our  chapels  waiting  for  every  crea- 


ANECDOTES   AND   ILLUSTRATIONS.  65 

ture  to  come  in  to  hear  what  we  have  to  say. 
A  sportsman  who  should  sit  at  his  parlor  win- 
dow, with  his  gun  loaded  all  ready  for  shoot- 
ing partridges,  would  probably  not  make  up  a 
very  heavy  bag  of  game.  No ;  he  must  put  on 
his  buskins,  and  tramp  off  over  the  fields,  and 
then  he  will  get  a  shot  at  the  birds  he  is  seek- 
ing. So  must  we  do,  brethren ;  we  must  al- 
ways have  our  buskins  ready  for  field  work, 
and  be  ever  on  the  watch  for  opportunities  of 
going  out  among  the  souls  of  men,  that  we 
may  bring  them  back  as  trophies  of  the  power 
of  the  gospel  we  have  to  proclaim. 

It  might  not  be  wise  for  us  to  try  to  make 
our  sermons  lifelike  and  vivid  in  the  style  in 
which  quaint  old  Matthew  Wilks  sometimes 
did ;  as  when,  one  Sabbath  morning,  he  took 
into  the  pulpit  a  little  box,  and  after  a  while, 
opened  it,  and  displayed  to  the  congregation 
a  small  pair  of  scales,  and  then,  turning  over 
the  leaves  of  the  Bible  with  great  deliberation, 
held  up  the  balances,  and  announced  as  his 
text,  "  Thou  art  weighed  in  the  balances,  and 
art  found  wanting."  I  think,  however,  that 
was  puerile  rather  than  powerful.  I  like  Mat- 
thew Wilks  better  when,  on  another  occasion, 
his  text  being,  "  See  that  ye  walk  circum- 
spectly," he  commenced  by  saying,  "  Did  you 
ever  see  a  tom-cat  walking  on  the  top  of  a 


66  THE  ART   OF   ILLUSTEATION. 

high  wall  that  was  covered  with  bits  of  broken 
glass  bottles?  If  so,  you  had  just  then  an 
accurate  illustration  of  what  is  meant  by  the 
injunction, '  See  that  ye  walk  circumspectly.' " 
There  is  the  case,  too,  of  good  "  Father  Tay- 
lor," who,  preaching  in  the  streets  in  one  of 
the  towns  of  California,  stood  on  the  top  of 
a  whisky-barrel.  By  way  of  illustration,  he 
stamped  his  foot  on  the  cask  and  said,  "  This 
barrel  is  like  man's  heart,  full  of  evil  stuff; 
and  there  are  some  people  who  say  that  if  sin 
is  within  you,  it  may  just  as  well  come  out." 
"  No,"  said  the  speaker,  "  it  is  not  so ;  now  here 
is  this  whisky  that  is  in  the  barrel  under  my 
foot :  it  is  a  bad  thing ;  it  is  a  damnable  thing ; 
it  is  a  devilish  thing ;  but  as  long  as  it  is  kept 
tightly  bunged  up  in  the  barrel,  it  certainly 
will  not  do  the  hurt  that  it  will  if  it  is  taken 
over  to  the  liquor-bar,  and  sold  out  to  the 
drunkards  of  tlie  neighborhood,  sending  them 
home  to  beat  their  wives  or  kill  their  children. 
So,  if  you  keep  your  sins  in  your  own  heart, 
they  will  be  evil  and  devilish,  and  God  will 
damn  you  for  them ;  but  they  will  not  do  so 
much  hurt  to  other  people,  at  any  rate,  as  if 
they  are  seen  in  public."  Stamping  his  foot 
again  on  the  barrel,  the  preacher  said,  "  Sup- 
pose you  try  to  pass  this  cask  over  the  boun- 
daries of  the  country,  and  the  custom-house 


ANECDOTES   AND   ILLUSTRATIONS.  67 

officer  comes  and  demands  the  duty  upon  its 
contents.  You  say  that  you  will  not  let  any 
of  the  whisky  get  out ;  but  the  officer  tells  you 
that  he  cannot  allow  it  to  pass.  So,  if  it  were 
possible  for  us  to  abstain  from  outward  sin, 
yet,  since  the  heart  is  full  of  all  manner  of 
evil,  it  would  be  impossible  for  us  to  pass  the 
frontiers  of  heaven,  and  to  be  found  in  that 
holy  and  happy  place."  That  I  thought  to  be 
somewhat  of  a  lifelike  illustration,  and  a  cap- 
ital way  of  teaching  truth,  although  I  should 
not  like  always  to  have  a  whisky-barrel  for  a 
pulpit,  for  fear  the  head  might  fall  in,  and  I 
might  fall  in,  too. 

I  should  not  recommend  any  of  you  to  be 
so  lifelike  in  your  ministry  as  that  notable 
French  priest,  who,  addressing  his  congrega- 
tion, said,  "As  to  the  Magdalenes  and  those 
who  commit  the  sins  of  the  flesh,  such  persons 
are  very  common ;  they  abound  even  in  this 
church ;  and  I  am  going  to  throw  this  mass- 
book  at  a  woman  who  is  a  Magdalene,"  where- 
upon all  the  women  in  the  place  bent  down 
their  heads.  So  the  priest  said,  "  No,  surely 
you  are  not  all  Magdalenes ;  I  hardly  thought 
that  was  the  case ;  but  you  see  how  your  sin 
finds  you  out ! "  Nor  should  I  even  recom- 
mend you  to  follow  the  example  of  the  clergy- 
man, who,  when  a  collection  was  to  be  made 


68  THE  AET   OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

for  lighting  and  warming  the  church,  after  he 
had  preached  some  time,  blew  out  the  candles 
on  both  sides  of  the  pulpit,  saying  that  the 
collection  was  for  the  lights  and  the  fires,  and 
h^  did  not  require  any  light,  for  he  did  not  read 
his  sermon,  ^'but,"  he  added,  "when  Roger 
gives  out  the  psalm  presently,  you  will  want 
a  light  to  see  your  books ;  so  the  candles  are 
for  yourselves.  And  as  for  the  stove,  I  do  not 
need  its  heat,  for  my  exercise  in  preaching  is 
sufficient  to  keep  me  warm ;  therefore  you  see 
that  the  collection  is  wholly  for  yourselves  on 
this  occasion.  Nobody  can  say  that  the  clergy 
are  collecting  for  themselves  this  time,  for  on 
this  Sunday  it  is  wholly  for  your  own  selves." 
I  thought  the  man  was  a  fool  for  making  such 
remarks,  though  I  find  that  his  conduct  has 
been  referred  to  as  being  a  very  excellent  in- 
stance of  boldness  in  preaching. 

There  is  a  story  told  about  myself,  which, 
like  very  many  of  the  tales  told  about  me,  is  a 
story  in  two  senses.  It  is  said  that  in  order  to 
show  the  way  in  which  men  backslide,  I  once 
slid  down  the  banisters  of  the  pulpit.  I  only 
mention  this,  in  passing,  because  it  is  a  re- 
markable fact  that,  at  the  time  the  story  was 
told,  my  pulpit  was  fixed  in  the  wall,  and  there 
was  no  banister,  so  that  the  reverend  fool 
(which  he  would  have  been  if  he  had  done 


ANECDOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.     69 

what  people  said)  could  not  have  performed 
the  antic  if  he  had  been  inclined  to  attempt  it. 
But  the  anecdote,  although  it  is  not  true,  serves 
all  the  purposes  of  the  lifelikeness  I  have  tried 
to  describe. 

You  probably  recollect  the  instance  of 
Whitefield  depicting  the  blind  man,  with  his 
dog,  walking  on  the  brink  of  a  precipice,  and 
his  foot  almost  slipping  over  the  edge.  The 
preacher's  description  was  so  graphic,  and  the 
illustration  so  vivid  and  lifelike,  that  Lord 
Chesterfield  sprang  up  and  exclaimed,  "  Good 
God,  he's  gone ! "  but  Whitefield  answered, 
"  No,  my  lord,  he  is  not  quite  gone ;  let  us  hope 
that  he  may  yet  be  saved."  Then  he  went  on 
to  speak  of  the  blind  man  as  being  led  by  his 
reason,  which  is  only  like  a  dog,  showing  that 
a  man  led  only  by  reason  is  ready  to  fall  into 
hell.  How  vividly  one  would  see  the  love  of 
money  set  forth  in  the  story  told  by  our  ven- 
erable friend,  Mr.  Rogers,  of  a  man  who,  when 
he  lay  a-dying,  would  put  his  money  in  his 
mouth  because  he  loved  it  so  and  wanted  to 
take  some  of  it  with  him  !  How  strikingly  is 
the  non-utility  of  worldly  wealth,  as  a  comfort 
to  us  in  our  last  days,  brought  before  us  by 
the  narrative  in  which  good  Jeremiah  Bur- 
roughes  speaks  of  a  miser  who  had  his  money- 
bags laid  near  his  hand  on  his  dying-bed !    He 


70  THE  ART  OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

kept  taking  them  up,  and  saying,  "  Must  I 
leave  you  ?  Must  I  leave  you !  Have  I  lived 
all  these  years  for  you,  and  now  must  I  leave 
you  1 "  And  so  he  died.  There  is  a  tale  told  of 
another,  who  had  many  pains  in  his  death,  and 
especially  the  great  pain  of  a  disturbed  con- 
science. He  also  had  his  money-bags  brought, 
one  by  one,  with  his  mortgages,  and  bonds,  and 
deeds,  and  putting  them  near  his  heart,  he 
sighed,  and  said,  "  These  won't  do ;  these  .won't 
do ;  these  won't  do ;  take  them  away !  What 
poor  things  they  all  are  when  I  most  need 
comfort  in  my  dying  moments !  " 

How  distinctly  love  to  Christ  is  brought  out 
in  the  story  of  John  Lambert,  fastened  to  the 
stake,  and  burning  to  death,  yet  clapping  his 
hands  as  he  was  burning,  and  crying  out, 
"  None  but  Christ !  None  but  Christ !  "  until 
his  nether  extremities  were  burned,  and  he 
fell  from  the  chains  into  the  fire,  still  ex- 
claiming in  the  midst  of  the  flames,  "None 
but  Christ !  None  but  Christ !  "  How  clearly 
the  truth  stands  out  before  you  when  you 
hear  such  stories  as  these !  You  can  realize 
it  almost  as  well  as  if  the  incident  happened 
before  your  eyes.  How  well  you  can  see  the 
folly  of  misunderstanding  between  Christians 
in  Mr.  Jay's  story  of  two  men  who  were  walk- 
ing from  opposite  directions  on  a  foggy  night ! 


ANECDOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.      71 

Each  saw  what  he  thought  was  a  terrible  mon- 
ster moving  toward  him,  and  making  his  heart 
beat  with  terror ;  as  they  came  nearer  to  each 
other,  they  found  that  the  dreadful  monsters 
were  brothers.  So,  men  of  different  denomi- 
nations are  often  afraid  of  one  another;  but 
when  they  get  close  to  each  other,  and  know 
each  other's  hearts,  they  find  out  that  they 
are  brethren  after  all.  The  story  of  the  negro 
and  his  master  well  illustrates  the  need  of  be- 
ginning at  the  beginning  in  heavenly  things, 
and  not  meddling  with  the  deeper  points  of 
our  holy  religion  till  we  have  learned  its  ele- 
ments thoroughly.  A  poor  negro  was  labor- 
ing hard  to  bring  his  master  to  a  knowledge 
of  the  truth,  and  was  urging  him  to  exercise 
faith  in  Christ,  when  he  excused  himself  be- 
cause he  could  not  understand  the  doctrine  of 
election.  "Ah  !  Massa,"  said  the  negro,  "  don't 
you  know  what  comes  before  de  Epistle  to  de 
Romans?  You  must  read  de  Book  de  right 
wa}^ ;  de  doctrine  ob  election  is  in  Romans, 
and  dere  is  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke,  and  John, 
first.  You  are  only  in  Matthew  yet;  dat  is 
about  repentance ;  and  when  you  get  to  John, 
you  will  read  where  de  Lord  Jesus  Christ  said 
dat  God  so  loved  de  world,  dat  he  gave  his 
only  begotten  Son,  dat  whosoever  believeth 
in  him  should  not  perish,  but  hab  everlasting 


72  THE  ART   OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

life."  So,  brethren,  you  can  say  to  your  hear- 
ers, "  You  will  do  better  by  reading  the  four 
Gospels  first  than  by  beginning  to  read  in 
Romans;  first  study  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke, 
and  John,  and  then  you  can  go  on  to  the 
Epistles." 

But  I  must  not  keep  on  giving  you  illustra- 
tions, because  so  many  will  suggest  them- 
selves. I  have  given  you  sufficient  to  show 
that  they  do  make  our  preaching  vivid  and 
lifelike ;  therefore,  the  more  you  have  of  them, 
the  better.  At  the  same  time,  gentlemen,  I 
must  warn  you  against  the  danger  of  having 
too  many  anecdotes  in  any  one  sermon.  You 
ought,  perhaps,  to  have  a  dish  of  salad  on  the 
table ;  but  if  you  ask  your  friends  to  dinner, 
and  give  them  nothing  but  salad,  they  wiU 
not  fare  very  well,  and  will  not  care  to  come 
to  your  house  again. 

Thirdly,  anecdotes  and  illustrations  may  be 
used  to  explain  either  doctrines  or  duties  to  dull 
tinder  standing  8.  They  may,  in  fact,  be  the 
very  best  form  of  exposition.  A  preacher 
should  instance,  and  illustrate,  and  exemplify 
his  subject,  so  that  his  hearers  may  have  real 
acquaintance  with  the  matter  he  is  bringing 
before  them.  If  a  man  attempted  to  give  me 
a  description  of  a  piece  of  machinery,  he  would 


ANECDOTES  AND  ILLUSTKATIONS.      73 

possibly  fail  to  make  me  comprehend  what  it 
was  like ;  but  if  he  will  have  the  goodness  to 
let  me  see  a  drawing  of  the  various  sections, 
and  then  of  the  whole  machine,  I  will,  some- 
how or  other,  by  hook  or  by  crook,  make  out 
how  it  works.  The  pictorial  representation 
of  a  thing  is  always  a  much  more  powerful 
means  of  instruction  than  any  mere  verbal 
description  ever  could  be.  It  is  just  in  this 
way  that  anecdotes  and  illustrations  are  so 
helpful  to  our  hearers.  For  instance,  take 
this  anecdote  as  illustrating  the  text,  "  Thou, 
/yrhen  thou  prayest,  enter  into  thy  closet,  and 
jiwhen  thou  hast  shut  thy  door,  pray  to  thy 
iFather  which  is  in  secret."  A  little  boy  used 
to  go  up  into  a  hay-loft  to  pray ;  but  he  found 
^hat,  sometimes, persons  came  up  and  disturbed 
Mm ;  therefore,  the  next  time  he  climbed  into 
the  loft,  he  pulled  the  ladder  up  after  him. 
Telling  this  story,  you  might  explain  how  the 
•boy  thus  entered  into  his  closet  and  shut  the 
koor.  The  meaning  is  not  so  much  the  literal 
entrance  into  a  closet,  or  the  shutting  of  the 
door,  as  the  getting  away  from  earthly  sources 
of  distraction,  pulling  up  the  ladder  after  us, 
and  keeping  out  anything  that  might  come  in 
to  hinder  our  secret  devotions.  I  wish  we 
could  always  pull  the  ladder  up  after  us  when 
we  retire  for  private  prayer ;  but  many  things 


74  THE   ART   OF   ILLUSTRATION. 

try  to  climb  that  ladder.  The  devil  himself 
will  come  up  to  disturb  us  if  he  cau ;  and  he 
can  get  into  the  hay-loft  without  any  ladder. 

What  a  capital  exposition  of  the  fifth  com- 
mandment was  that  which  was  given  by  Cor- 
poral Trim,  when  he  was  asked,  "  What  dost 
thou  mean  by  honoring  thy  father  and  thy 
mother?"  and  he   answered,    "Please,   your 
honor,  it  is  allowing  them  a  shilling  a  week"' 
out  of  my  pay  when  they  grow  old."     Thaf' 
was  an  admirable  explanation  of  the  meaning ' 
of  the  text.     Then,  if  you  are  trying  to  show'^' 
how  we  are  to  be  doers  of  the  Word,  and  not  ^. 
hearers  only,  there  is  a  story  of  a  woman  who,  /  ~ 
when  asked  by  the  minister  what  he  had  said 
on  Sunday,  replied  that  she  did  not  remember 
the  sermon ;  but  it  had  touched  her  conscience, 
for  when  she  got  home  she  burned  her  bushel, 
which  was  short  measure.     There  is  another 
story  which  also  goes  to  show  that  the  gospel 
may  be  useful  even  to  hearers  who  forget  what 
they  have  heard.     A  woman  is  called  upon  by 
her  minister  on  the  Monday,  and  he  finds  her 
washing  wool  in  a  sieve,  holding  it  under  the 
pump.    He  asks  her,  "  How  did  you  enjoy  last 
Sabbath's  discourses  !  "  and  she  says  that  they 
did  her  much  good.      "Well,  what  was  the 
text  ?  "     She  does  not  recollect.     "  What  was 
the  subject?"    "  Ah,  sir,  it  is  quite  gone  from 


ANECDOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.      75 

me !  "  says  the  poor  woman.  Does  she  remem- 
ber any  of  the  remarks  that  were  made  1  No, 
they  are  all  gone.  "  Well,  then,  Mary,"  says 
the  minister,  "it  could  not  have  done  you 
much  good."  Oh !  but  it  had  done  her  a  great 
deal  of  good ;  and  she  explained  it  to  him  by 
saying,  "  I  will  tell  you,  sir,  how  it  is ;  I  put 
this  wool  in  the  sieve  under  the  pump,  I  pump 
on  it,  and  all  the  water  runs  through  the  sieve, 
but  then  it  washes  the  wool.  So  it  is  with 
your  sermon ;  it  comes  into  my  heart,  and 
then  it  runs  right  through  my  poor  memory, 
which  is  like  a  sieve,  but  it  washes  em  clean, 
sir."  You  might  talk  for  a  long  while  about 
the  cleansing  and  sanctifying  power  of  the 
Word,  and  it  would  not  make  such  an  impres- 
sion upon  your  hearers  as  that  simple  story 
would. 

What  finer  exposition  of  the  text,  "Weep 
with  them  that  weep,"  can  you  have  than  this 
pretty  anecdote  f  "  Mother,"  said  little  Annie, 
"  I  cannot  make  out  why  poor  Widow  Brown 
likes  me  to  go  in  to  see  her;  she  says  I  do 
comfort  her  so;  but,  mother,  I  cannot  say 
anything  to  comfort  her,  and  as  soon  as  she 
begins  crying,  I  put  my  arms  round  her  neck, 
and  I  cry  too,  and  she  says  that  that  comforts 
her."  And  so  it  does ;  that  is  the  very  essence 
of  the  comfort,  the  sympathy,  the  fellow-feel- 


76  THE  AKT  OF  ILLUSTKATION. 

ing  that  moved  the  little  girl  to  weep  with  the 
weeping  widow.  Mr.  Hervey  thus  illustrates- 
the  great  truth  of  the  different  appearance  of 
sin  to  the  eye  of  Grod  and  the  eye  of  man.  He 
says  that  you  may  take  a  small  insect,  and 
with  the  tiniest  needle  make  a  puncture  in  it 
so  minute  that  you  can  scarcely  see  it  with  the 
naked  eye ;  but  when  you  look  at  it  through 
a  microscope,  you  see  an  enormous  rent,  out 
of  which  there  flows  a  purple  stream,  making 
the  creature  seem  to  you  as  though  it  had  been 
smitten  with  the  ax  that  killeth  an  ox.  It  is 
but  a  defect  of  our  vision  that  we  cannot  see 
things  correctly;  but  the  microscope  reveals 
them  as  they  really  are.  Thus  you  may  ex- 
plain to  your  hearers  how  God's  microscopic 
eye  sees  sin  in  its  true  aspects.  Suppose  that 
you  wanted  to  set  forth  the  character  of  Caleb, 
who  followed  the  Lord  fully ;  it  would  greatly 
help  many  of  your  people  if  you  said  that  the 
name  Caleb  signifies  a  dog,  and  then  showed 
how  a  dog  follows  his  master.  There  is  his 
owner  em  horseback,  riding  along  the  miry 
roads ;  but  the  dog  keeps  as  close  to  him  as 
he  can,  no  matter  how  much  mud  and  dirt  are 
splashed  upon  him,  and  not  heeding  the  kicks 
he  might  get  from  the  horse's  heels.  Even  so 
should  we  follow  the  Lord.  If  you  wish  to 
exemplify  the  shortness  of  time,  you  might 


ANECDOTES   AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  77 

bring  in  the  poor  seamstress,  with  her  little 
piece  of  candle,  stitching  away  to  get  her  work 
done  before  the  light  went  out. 

Many  preachers  find  the  greatest  diificulty 
in  getting  suitable  metaphors  to  set  forth  sim- 
ple faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  There  is 
a  capital  anecdote  of  an  idiot  who  was  asked 
by  the  minister,  who  was  trying  to  instruct 
him,  whether  he  had  a  soul.  To  the  utter 
consternation  of  his  kind  teacher,  he  replied, 
"  No,  I  have  no  soul."  The  preacher  said  he 
was  greatly  surprised,  after  he  had  been  taught 
for  years,  that  he  did  not  know  better  than 
that ;  but  the  poor  fellow  thus  explained  him- 
self, "I  had  a  soul  once,  but  I  lost  it;  and 
Jesus  Christ  came  and  found  it,  and  now  I  let 
him  keep  it,  for  it  is  his,  it  does  not  belong  to 
me  any  longer."  That  is  a  fine  picture  of  the 
way  of  salvation  by  simple  faith  in  the  siab- 
stitution  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  and  the 
smallest  child  in  the  congregation  might  be 
able  to  understand  it  through  the  story  of  the 
poor  idiot. 

Fourthly,  there  is  a  kind  of  reasoning  in  anec- 
dotes and  illustrations,  which  is  very  clear  to 
illogical  minds ;  and  many  of  our  hearers,  un- 
fortunately, have  such  minds,  yet  they  can 
understand  illustrative  instances  and  stubborn 


78  THE   AKT   OF   ILLUSTKATION. 

facts.  Truthful  anecdotes  are  facts,  and  facts 
are  stubborn  things.  Instances,  when  suffi- 
ciently multiplied,  as  we  know  by  the  induc- 
tive philosophy,  prove  a  point.  Two  instances 
may  not  prove  it ;  but  twenty  may  prove  it  to 
a  demonstration.  Take  the  very  important 
matter  of  answers  to  prayer.  You  can  prove 
that  God  answers  prayer  by  quoting  anecdote 
after  anecdote,  that  you  know  to  be  authentic, 
of  instances  in  which  God  has  really  heard 
and  answered  prayer.  Take  that  capital  little 
book  by  Mr.  Prime  on  the  "  Power  of  Prayer  " ; 
there  I  believe  you  have  the  truth  upon  this 
subject  demonstrated  as  clearly  as  you  could 
have  it  in  any  proposition  in  Euclid.  I  think 
that,  if  such  a  number  of  facts  could  be  in- 
stanced in  connection  with  any  question  relat- 
ing to  geology  or  astronomy,  the  point  would 
be  regarded  as  settled-.  The  writer  brings 
such  abundant  proofs  of  God's  having  heard 
prayer,  that  even  men  who  reject  inspiration 
ought,  at  least,  to  acknowledge  that  this  is  a 
marvelous  phenomenon  for  which  they  cannot 
account  by  any  other  explanation  than  the 
one  which  proclaims  that  there  is  a  God  who 
sitteth  in  heaven,  and  who  hath  respect  unto 
the  cry  of  his  people  upon  the  earth. 

I  have  heard  of  some  persons  who  have  had 
objections  to  labor  for  the  conversion  of  their 


ANECDOTES  AND  ILLUSTKATIONS.      79 

.^lildren,  on  the  ground  that  God  would  save 
/  his  own  without  any  effort  on  our  part.  I  re- 
I  member  making  one  man  wince  who  held  this 
I  view,  by  telling  him  of  a  father  who  would 
j  never  teach  his  child  to  pray,  or  have  him  in- 
structed' even  as  to  the  meaning  of  prayer. 
He  thought  it  was  wrong,  and  that  such  work 
i  ought  to  be  left  to  God's  Holy  Spirit.  The 
boy  fell  down  and  broke  his  leg,  and  had  to 
have  it  taken  off ;  and  all  the  while  the  sur- 
geon was  amputating  it  the  boy  was  cursing 
and  swearing  in  the  most  frightful  manner. 
The  good  surgeon  said  to  the  father,  "You 
see,  you  would  not  teach  your  boy  to  pray,  but 
the  devil  evidently  had  no  objection  to  teach 
him  to  swear."  That  is  the  mischief  of  it ;  if 
we  do  not  try  our  best  to  bring  our  children  to 
Christ,  there  is  another  who  will  do  his  worst 
to  di'ag  them  down  to  hell.  A  mother  once 
said  to  her  sick  son,  who  was  about  to  die,  and 
was  in  a  dreadful  state  of  mind,  "  My  boy,  I 
am  sorry  you  are  in  such  trouble ;  I  am  sure 
I  never  taught  you  any  hurt."  "  No,  mother," 
he  answered,  "  but  you  never  taught  me  any 
good;  and  therefore  there  was  room  for  all 
sorts  of  evil  to  get  into  me."  All  these  stories 
will  be  to  many  people  the  very  best  kind  of 
argument  that  you  could  possibly  use  with 
them.     You  bring  to  them  facts,  and  these 


80  THE  ART   OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

facts  reach  their  conscience,  even  though  it  is 
embedded  in  several  inches  of  callousness. 

I  do  not  know  of  any  reasoning  that  would 
explain  the  need  of  submission  to  the  will  of 
God  better  than  the  telling  of  the  story,  which 
Mr.  Gilpin  gives  us  in  his  Life,  of  his  being 
called  in  to  pray  with  a  woman  whose  boy 
was  very  ill.  The  good  man  asked  that  God 
would,  if  it  were  his  will,  restore  the  dear  child 
to  life  and  health,  when  the  mother  interrupted 
him,  and  said,  '^  No,  I  cannot  agree  to  such  a 
prayer  as  that ;  I  cannot  put  it  in  that  shape ; 
it  must  be  God's  will  to  restore  him.  I  cannot 
bear  that  my  child  should  die ;  pray  that  he 
may  live  whether  it  is  God's  will  or  not."  He 
answered,  "Woman,  I  cannot  pray  that  prayer, 
but  it  is  answered;  your  child  will  recover, 
but  you  will  live  to  rue  the  day  that  you  made 
such  a  request."  Twenty  years  after,  there 
was  a  woman  carried  away  in  a  fainting  fit 
from  under  a  drop  at  Tyburn,  for  her  son  had 
lived  long  enough  to  bring  himself  to  the  gal- 
lows by  his  crimes.  The  mother's  wicked 
prayer  had  been  heard,  and  God  had  answered 
it.  So,  if  you  want  to  prove  the  power  of  the 
gospel,  do  not  go  on  expending  words  to  no 
purpose,  but  tell  the  stories  of  cases  you  have 
met  with  that  illustrate  the  truth  you  are  en- 
forcing, for  such  anecdotes  will  convince  your 


ANECDOTES  AND  ILLUSTKATIONS.      81 

hearers  as  no  other  kmd  of  reasoning  can.  I 
think  that  is  clear  enough  to  every  one  of  you. 
/Anecdotes  are  useful,  also,  because  they 
'^often  appeal  very  forcibly  to  human  nature. 
In  order  to  rebuke  those  who  profane  the 
Sabbath,  tell  the  story  of  the  gentleman  who 
had  seven  sovereigns,  and  who  met  with  a 
poor  fellow,  to  whom  he  gave  six  out  of  the 
seven,  and  then  the  wicked  wretch  turned 
round  and  robbed  him  of  the  seventh.  How 
clearly  that  sets  forth  the  ingratitude  of  our 
/  sinful  race  in  depriving  God  of  that  one  day 
/  out  of  the  seven  which  he  has  set  apart  for  his 
I  own  service!  This  story  appeals  to  nature, 
M;00.  Two  or  three  boys  come  round  one  of 
their  companions,  and  they  say  to  him,  "Let 
us  go  and  get  some  cherries  out  of  your 
father's  garden."  "  No,"  he  replies,  "  I  cannot 
steal,  and  my  father  does  not  wish  those  cher- 
ries to  be  picked."  "  Oh,  but  then  your  father 
is  so  kind,  and  he  never  beats  you !  "  "Ah,  I 
know  that  is  true  ! "  answers  the  boy,  "and  that 
is  the  very  reason  why  I  would  not  steal  his 
cherries."  This  would  show  that  the  grace 
and  goodness  of  God  do  not  lead  his  children 
to  licentiousness ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  they 
restrain  them  from  sin.  This  story,  also,  ap- 
peals to  human  nature,  and  shows  that  the 
fathers  of  the  church  are  not  always  to  be 


82  THE   AET   OF   ILLUSTRATION. 

depended  upon  as  fountains  of  authority.  A 
nobleman  had  heard  of  a  certain  very  old  man, 
who  lived  in  a  village,  and  he  sought  out  and 
found  him,  and  ascertained  that  he  was  sev- 
enty years  of  age.  He  was  talking  with  him, 
supposing  him  to  be  the  oldest  inhabitant, 
when  the  man  said,  "  Oh,  no,  sir,  I  am  not  the 
oldest;  I  am  not  the  father  of  the  village; 
there  is  an  older  one — my  father — who  is  still 
alive."  So,  I  have  heard  of  some  who  have 
said  that  they  turned  away  from  "the  fathers" 
of  the  church  to  the  very  old  fathers,  that  is, 
away  from  what  are  commonly  called  "the 
patristic  fathers,"  back  to  the  apostles,  who 
are  the  true  fathers  and  grandfathers  of  the 
Christian  Church.  ^^^ 

Sometimes  anecdotes  have  force  in  them 
on  account  of  their  appealing  to  the  sense  of 
the  ludicrous.  Of  course,  I  must  be  very  care- 
ful here,  for  it  is  a  sort  of  tradition  of  the 
fathers  that  it  is  wrong  to  laugh  on  Sundays. 
The  eleventh  commandment  is,  that  we  are  to 
love  one  another,  and  then,  according  to  some 
people,  the  twelfth  is,  "  Thou  shalt  pull  a  long 
face  on  Sunday."  I  must  confess  that  I  would 
rather  hear  people  laugh  than  I  would  see 
them  asleep  in  the  house  of  Grod ;  and  I  would 
rather  get  the  truth  into  them  through  the 
medium  of  ridicule  than  I  would  have  the 


ANECDOTES  AND   ILLUSTRATIONS,  80 

truth  neglected,  or  leave  the  people  to  perish 
through  lack  of  reception  of  the  truth.  I  do 
believe  in  my  heart  that  there  may  be  as  much 
holiness  in  a  laugh  as  in  a  cry ;  and  that,  some- 
times, to  laugh  is  the  better  thing  of  the  two, 
for  I  may  weep,  and  be  murmuring,  and  repin- 
ing, and  thinking  all  sorts  of  bitter  thoughts 
against  God;  while,  at  another  time,  I  may 
laugh  the  laugh  of  sarcasm  against  sin,  and  so 
evince  a  holy  earnestness  in  the  defense  of  the 
truth.  I  do  not  know  why  ridicule  is  to  be 
given  up  to  Satan  as  a  weapon  to  be  used 
against  us,  and  not  to  be  employed  by  us  as  a 
weapon  against  him,  I  will  venture  to  affirm 
that  the  Reformation  owed  almost  as  much  to 
the  sense  of  the  ridiculous  in  human  nature 
as  to  anything  else,  and  that  those  humorous 
squibs  and  caricatures  that  were  issued  by  the 
friends  of  Luther,  did  more  to  open  the  eyes 
of  G-ermany  to  the  abominations  of  the  priest- 
hood than  the  more  solid  and  ponderous  argu- 
ments against  Romanism.  I  know  no  reason 
why  we  should  not,  on  suitable  occasions,  try 
the  same  style  of  reasoning.  "  It  is  a  danger- 
ous weapon,"  it  will  be  said,  "  and  many  men 
will  cut  their  fingers  with  it."  Well,  that  is 
their  own  lookout;  but  I  do  not  know  why 
we  should  be  so  particular  about  their  cutting 
their  fingers,  if  they  can,  at  the  same  time,  cut 


84  THE  ART   OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

the  throat  of  sin,  and  do  serious  damage  to  the 
great  adversary  of  souls. 

Here  is  a  story  that  I  should  not  mind  tell- 
ing on  a  Sunday  for  the  benefit  of  certain 
people  who  are  good  at  hearing  sermons  and 
attending  prayer-meetings,  but  who  are  very 
bad  hands  at  business.  They  never  work  on 
Sundays  because  they  never  work  on  any  day 
of  the  week ;  they  forget  that  part  of  the  com- 
mandment which  says,  "  Six  days  shalt  thou 
labor,"  which  is  just  as  binding  as  the  other 
part,  "  The  seventh  day  is  the  sabbath  of  the 
Lord  thy  God:  in  it  thou  shalt  not  do  any 
work."  To  these  people  who  never  labor  be- 
cause they  are  so  heavenly-minded,  I  would 
tell  the  story  of  a  certain  monk,  who  entered 
a  monastery,  but  who  would  not  work  in  the 
fields,  or  the  garden,  or  at  making  clothes,  or 
anything  else,  because,  as  he  told  the  superior, 
he  was  a  spiritually-minded  monk.  He  won- 
dered, when  the  dinner-hour  approached,  that 
there  came  to  him  no  summons  from  the  re- 
fectory. So  he  went  down  to  the  prior,  and 
said,  "  Don't  the  brethren  eat  here  !  Are  you 
not  going  to  have  any  dinner!"  The  prior 
said,  "  We  do,  because  we  are  carnal ;  but  you 
are  so  spiritual  that  you  do  not  work,  and 
therefore  you  do  not  require  to  eat;  that  is 
why  we  did  not  call  you.     The  law  of  this 


ANECDOTES  AND  ILLUSTKATIONS.      85 

monastery  is,  that  if  any  man  will  not  work, 
neither  shall  he  eat." 

That  is  a  good  story  of  the  boy  in  Italy  who 
had  his  Testament  seized,  and  who  said  to  the 
f/endarme,  "  Why  do  you  seize  this  book  ?  Is  it 
a  bad  book  ?  "  "  Yes,"  was  the  answer.  "Aire 
you  sure  the  book  is  bad  f "  he  inquired ;  and 
again  the  reply  was,  "  Yes."  "  Then  why  do 
you  not  seize  the  Author  of  it  if  it  is  a  bad 
book !  "  That  was  a  fine  piece  of  sarcasm  at 
those  who  had  a  hatred  of  the  Scriptures,  and 
yet  professed  to  have  love  to  Christ.  That  is 
another  good  story  of  our  friend  the  Irishman, 
who,  when  he  was  asked  by  the  priest  what 
warrant  an  ignorant  man  such  as  he  was  had 
for  reading  the  Bible,  said,  "Truth,  but  I 
have  a  search-warrant ;  for  it  says,  ^  Search 
the  Scriptures ;  for  in  them  ye  think  ye  have 
eternal  life :  and  they  are  they  which  testify 
of  me.' " 

This  story  would  not  be  amiss,  I  think,  as 
a  sort  of  ridiculous  argument  showing  what 
power  the  gospel  ought  to  have  over  the  hu- 
man mind.  Dr.  Moffat  tells  us  of  a  certain 
Kaffir,  who  came  to  him  one  day.  saying  that 
the  New  Testament,  which  the  missionary  had 
given  him  a  week  before,  had  spoiled  his  dog. 
The  man  said  that  his  dog  had  been  a  very 
good  hunting-dog,  but  that  he  had  torn  the 


86  THE  ART  OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

Testament  to  pieces,  and  eaten  it  up,  and  now 
he  was  quite  spoiled.  "  Never  mind,"  said  Dr. 
Moffat,  "  I  will  give  you  another  Testament." 
"  Oh  !  "  said  the  man,  "  it  is  not  that  that  trou- 
bles me,  I  do  not  mind  the  dog  spoiling  the 
book,  for  I  could  buy  another ;  but  the  book 
has  spoiled  the  dog."  "  How  is  that !  "  inquired 
the  missionary ;  and  the  Kaifir  replied,  "  The 
dog  will  be  of  no  use  to  me  now,  because  he 
has  eaten  the  Word  of  God,  and  that  will 
make  him  love  his  enemies,  so  that  he  will  be 
of  no  good  for  hunting."  The  man  supposed 
that  not  even  a  dog  could  receive  the  New 
Testament  without  being  sweetened  in  temper 
thereby ;  that  is,  in  truth,  what  ought  to  be 
the  case  with  all  who  feed  upon  the  gospel  of 
Christ.  I  should  not  hesitate  to  tell  that  story 
after  Dr.  Moffat,  and  I  should,  of  course,  use 
it  to  show  that,  when  a  man  has  received  the 
truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  there  ought  to  be  a 
great  change  in  him,  and  he  ought  never  to 
be  of  any  use  to  his  old  master  again. 

When  the  priests  were  trying  to  pervert  the 
natives  of  Tahiti  to  Romanism,  they  had  a  fine 
picture  which  they  hoped  would  convince  the 
people  of  the  excellence  of  the  Church  of  Rome. 
There  were  certain  dead  logs  of  wood :  whom 
were  they  to  represent !  They  were  the  here- 
tics, who  were  to  gO  into  the  fire.     And  who 


ANECDOTES  AND   ILLUSTRATIONS.  87 

were  these  small  brandies  of  tlie  tree  ?  They 
were  the  faithful.  Who  were  the  larger  ones  ? 
They  were  the  priests.  And  who  were  the 
next  ?  They  were  the  cardinals.  And  who 
was  the  trunk  of  the  tree?  Oh,  that  was  the 
pope !  And  the  root,  whom  did  that  set  forth  I 
Oh,  the  root  was  Jesus  Christ !  So  the  poor 
natives  said,  "  Well,  we  do  not  know  anything 
about  the  trunk  or  the  branches ;  but  we  have 
got  the  root,  and  we  mean  to  stick  to  that, 
and  not  give  it  up."  If  we  have  the  root,  if 
we  have  Christ,  we  may  laugh  to  scorn  all  the 
pretensions  and  delusions  of  men. 

These  stories  may  make  us  laugh,  but  they 
may  also  smite  error  right  through  the  heart, 
and  lay  it  dead ;  and  they  may,  therefore,  law- 
fully be  used  as  weapons  with  which  we  may 
go  forth  to  fight  the  Lord's  battles. 

Fifthly,  another  use  of  anecdotes  and  illus- 
trations lies  in  the  fact  that  they  help  the  mem- 
ory to  grasp  the  truth.  There  is  a  story  told — 
though  I  will  not  vouch  for  the  truth  of  it — of 
a  certain  countryman,  who  had  been  persuaded 
by  some  one  that  all  Londoners  were  thieves ; 
and,  therefore,  on  coming  to  London  for  the 
first  time,  he  tried  to  secure  his  watch  by  put^ 
ting  it  into  his  waistcoat  pocket,  and  then 
covering  it  all  over  with  fish-hooks.     "  Now," 


88  THE   ART   OF   ILLUSTRATION. 

lie  thought,  "  if  any  gentleman  tries  to  get  my 
watch,  he  will  remember  it."  The  story  says 
that,  as  he  was  walking  along,  he  desired  to 
know  the  time  himself,  and  put  his  own  hand 
into  his  pocket,  forgetting  all  about  the  fish- 
hooks. The  effect  produced  upon  him  can 
better  be  imagined  than  described.  Now,  it 
seems  to  me  that  a  sermon  should  always  be 
like  that  countrjnnan's  pocket,  full  of  fish- 
hooks, so  that,  if  anybody  comes  in  to  listen 
to  it,  he  will  get  some  forget-me-not,  some  re- 
membrancer, fastened  in  his  ear,  and,  it  may 
be,  in  his  heart  and  conscience.  Let  him  drop 
in  just  at  the  end  of  the  discourse,  there  should 
be  something  at  the  close  that  will  strike  and 
stick.  As  when  we  walk  in  our  farmer  friends' 
fields  there  are  certain  burrs  that  are  sure  to 
cling  to  our  clothes ;  and,  rush  as  we  may,  some 
of  the  relics  of  the  fields  remain  upon  our  gar- 
ments ;  so  there  ought  to  be  some  burr  in  every 
sermon  that  will  stick  to  those  who  hear  it. 

What  do  you  remember  best  in  the  dis- 
courses you  heard  years  agof  I  will  ven- 
ture to  say  that  it  is  some  anecdote  that  the 
preacher  related.  It  may  possibl}^  be  some 
pithy  sentence ;  but  it  is  more  probable  that 
it  is  some  striking  story  which  was  told  in  the 
course  of  the  sermon.  Rowland  Hill,  a  little 
while  before  he  died,  was  visiting  an  old  friend. 


ANECDOTES  AND  ILLUSTBATIONS.      89 

who  said  to  him,  "  Mr.  Hill,  it  is  now  sixty-five 
years  since  I  first  heard  you  preach;  but  I 
remember  your  text,  and  a  part  of  your  ser- 
mon." "  Well,"  asked  the  preacher,  "  what  part 
of  the  sermon  do  you  recollect  f  "  His  friend 
answered,  "  You  said  that  some  people,  when 
they  went  to  hear  a  sermon,  were  very  squeam- 
ish about  the  delivery  of  the  preacher.  Then 
you  said,  ^  Supposing  you  went  to  hear  the 
will  of  one  of  your  relatives  read,  and  you 
were  expecting  a  legac)^  from  him ;  you  would 
hardly  think  of  criticizing  the  manner  in  which 
the  lawyer  read  the  will ;  but  you  would  be  all 
attention  to  hear  whether  anything  was  left  to 
you,  and  if  so,  how  much ;  and  that  is  the  way 
to  hear  the  gospel.'"  Now,  the  man  would 
not  have  recollected  that  for  sixty-five  years 
if  Mr.  Hill  had  not  put  the  matter  in  that  illus- 
trative form.  If  he  had  said,  "  Dear  friends, 
you  must  listen  to  the  gospel  for  its  own  sake, 
and  not  merely  for  the  charms  of  the  preach- 
er's oratory,  or  those  delightful  soaring  periods 
which  gratify  your  ears,"  if  he  had  put  it  in 
the  very  pretty  manner  in  which  some  people 
can  do  the  thing,  I  will  be  bound  to  say  that 
the  man  would  have  remembered  it  as  long 
as  a  duck  recollects  the  last  time  it  went  into 
the  water,  and  no  longer ;  for  it  would  have 
been  so  common  to  have  spoken  in  that  way ; 


90  THE   ART   OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

but  putting  the  truth  in  the  striking  manner 
that  he  did,  it  was  remembered  for  sixty-five 
years. 

A  gentleman  related  the  following  anecdote, 
which  just  answers  the  purpose  I  have  in 
view,  so  I  will  pass  it  on  to  you.  He  said: 
"  When  I  was  a  boy,  I  used  to  hear  the  story 
of  a  tailor  who  lived  to  a  great  age,  and  be- 
came very  wealthy,  so  that  he  was  an  object 
of  envy  to  all  who  knew  him.  His  life,  as  all 
lives  will,  drew  to  a  close ;  but  before  he  passed 
away,  feeling  some  desire  to  benefit  the  mem- 
bers of  his  craft,  he  gave  out  word  that,  on  a 
certain  day,  he  would  be  happy  to  communi- 
cate to  all  the  tailors  of  the  neighborhood  the 
secret  by  which  they  might  become  wealthy. 
A  great  number  of  knights  of  the  thimble 
came,  and  while  they  waited  in  anxious  silence 
to  hear  the  important  revelation,  he  was  raised 
up  in  his  bed,  and  with  his  expiring  breath 
uttered  this  short  sentence,  'Always  put  a  knot 
in  your  threa(V^  That  is  why  I  recommend 
you,  brethren,  to  use  anecdotes  and  illustra- 
tions, because  they  put  knots  in  the  thread  of 
your  discourse.  What  is  the  use  of  pulling 
the  end  of  your  thread  through  the  material 
on  which  you  are  working?  Yet,  has  it  not 
been  the  case  with  very  many  of  the  sermons 
to  which  we  have  listened,  or  the  discourses 


ANECDOTES  AND  ILLUSTKATIONS.      91 

we  have  ourselves  delivered?  The  bulk  of 
what  we  have  heard  has  just  gone  through 
our  minds  without  leaving  any  lasting  im- 
pression, and  all  we  recollect  is  some  anecdote 
that  was  told  by  the  preacher. 

There  is  an  authenticated  case  of  a  man 
being  converted  by  a  sermon  eighty-five  years 
after  he  had  heard  it  preached.  Mr.  Flavel,  at 
the  close  of  a  discourse,  instead  of  pronounc- 
ing the  usual  benediction,  stood  up,  and  said, 
"  How  can  I  dismiss  you  with  a  blessing,  for 
many  of  you  are  '  Anathema  Maranatha,'  be- 
cause you  love  not  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ?" 
A  lad  of  fifteen  heard  that  remarkable  utter- 
ance ;  and  eighty-five  years  afterward,  sitting 
under  a  hedge,  the  whole  scene  came  vividly 
before  him  as  if  it  had  been  but  the  day  be- 
fore ;  and  it  pleased  God  to  bless  Mr.  FlavePs 
words  to  his  conversion,  and  he  lived  three 
years  longer  to  bear  good  testimony  that  he 
had  felt  the  power  of  the  truth  in  his  heart. 

Sixthly,  anecdotes  and  illustrations  are  use- 
ful because  they  frequently  arouse  the  feelings. 
They  will  not  do  this,  however,  if  you  tell  the 
same  stories  over  and  over  again  ever  so  many 
times.  I  recollect,  when  I  first  heard  that  won- 
derful story  about  '^  There  is  another  man,"  I 
cried  a  good  deal  over  it.     Poor  soul,  just  res- 


92  THE  ART   OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

cued,  half -dead,  witli  only  a  few  rags  on  him, 
and  yet  he  said,  "  There  is  another  man,"  need- 
ing to  be  saved.  The  second  time  I  heard  the 
story,  I  liked  it,  but  I  did  not  think  it  was 
quite  so  new  as  at  first ;  and  the  third  time  I 
heard  it,  I  thought  that  I  never  wanted  to  hear 
it  again.  I  do  not  know  how  many  times  I 
have  heard  it  since ;  but  I  can  always  tell  when 
it  is  coming  out.  The  brother  draws  himself 
up,  and  looks  wonderfully  solemn,  and  in  a 
sepulchral  tone  says,  "  There  is  another  man," 
and  I  think  to  myself,  ^' Yes,  and  I  wish  there 
had  not  been,"  for  I  have  heard  that  story 
till  I  am  sick  and  tired  of  it.  Even  a  good 
anecdote  may  get  so  hackneyed  that  there  is 
no  force  in  it,  and  no  use  in  retailing  it  any 
longer. 

Still,  a  live  illustration  is  better  for  appeal- 
ing to  the  feelings  of  an  audience  than  any 
amount  of  description  could  possibly  be.  What 
we  want  in  these  times  is  not  to  listen  to  long 
prelections  upon  some  dry  subject,  but  to  hear 
something  practical,  something  matter-of-fact, 
that  comes  home  to  our  every-day  reasoning ; 
and  when  we  get  this  then  our  hearts  are  soon 
stirred. 

I  have  no  doubt  that  the  sight  of  a  death- 
bed would  move  men  much  more  than  that 
admirable  work  called  "  Drehncourt  on  Death," 


ANECDOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.      93 

a  book  which,  I  should  think,  nobody  has  ever 
been  able  to  read  through.  There  may  have 
been  instances  of  persons  who  have  attempted 
it ;  but  I  believe  that,  long  before  they  have 
reached  the  latter  end,  they  have  been  in  a 
state  of  asphyxia  or  coma,  and  have  been 
obliged  to  be  rubbed  with  hot  flannels ;  and 
the  book  has  had  to  be  removed  to  a  distance 
before  they  could  recover.  If  you  have  not 
read  "  Drelincourt  on  Death,"  I  believe  I  know 
what  you  have  read — that  is,  the  ghost  story 
that  is  stitched  in  at  the  end  of  the  book.  The 
work  would  not  sell,  the  whole  impression  was 
upon  the  shelves  of  the  bookseller,  when  Defoe 
wrote  the  fiction  entitled,  "A  True  Relation  of 
the  Apparition  of  Mrs.  Veal,  after  her  Death, 
to  Mrs.  Bargrave,"  in  which  "  Drelincourt  on 
Death  "  is  recommended  by  the  apparition  as 
the  best  book  on  the  subject.  This  story  had 
not  a  vestige  or  shadow  of  truth  in  it,  it  was 
all  a  piece  of  imagination ;  but  it  was  put  in 
at  the  end  of  the  book,  and  then  the  whole 
edition  was  speedily  cleared  out,  and  more 
were  wanted.  It  may  be  something  like  that 
very  often  with  your  sermons ;  only  you  must 
tell  the  people  of  what  has  actually  occurred, 
and  so  you  will  retain  their  attention  and  reach 
their  hearts. 
Many  have  been  moved  to  self-sacrifice  by 


94  THE  ART   OF   ILLUSTRATION. 

the  story  of  the  Moravians  in  South  Africa 
who  saw  a  large  inclosed  space  of  ground,  in 
which  there  were  persons  rotting  away  with 
leprosy,  some  without  arms  and  some  without 
legs ;  and  these  Moravians  could  not  preach  to 
the  poor  lepers  without  going  in  there  them- 
selves for  life  to  rot  with  them,  and  they  did 
so.  Two  more  of  the  same  noble  band  of 
brethren  sold  themselves  into  slavery  in  the 
West  Indies,  in  order  that  they  might  be  al- 
lowed to  preach  to  the  slaves.  When  you 
can  give  such  instances  as  these  of  missionary 
disinterestedness  and  devotedness,  it  will  do 
more  to  arouse  a  spirit  of  enthusiasm  for  for- 
eign missions  than  all  your  closely  reasoned 
arguments  could  possibly  do. 

Who  has  not  heard  and  felt  the  force  of  the 
story  of  the  tw^o  miners,  when  the  fuse  was 
burning,  and  only  one  could  escape,  and  the 
Christian  man  cried  out  to  his  unconverted 
companion,  "  Escape  for  your  life,  because,  if 
you  die,  you  are  lost ;  but  if  I  die,  it  is  all  right 
with  me ;  so  you  go." 

The  fooPs  plan,  too,  I  have  sometimes  used 
as  a  striking  illustration.  There  was  a  little 
boat  which  got  wrecked,  and  the  man  in  it 
was  trying  to  swim  to  shore,  but  the  current 
was  too  strong  for  him.  After  he  had  been 
drowned  an  hour,  a  man  said,  "  I  could  have 


ANECDOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.      95 

saved  him ; "  and  when  they  asked  him  how 
he  could  have  saved  him,  he  described  a  plan 
that  seemed  to  be  most  excellent  and  feasible, 
by  which  the  man  might,  no  doubt,  have  been 
saved ;  but  then,  unfortunately,  by  that  time 
he  was  drowned !  So,  there  are  some  who 
are  always  wise  just  too  late,  some  who  may 
have  to  say  to  themselves,  when  such  and  such 
a  one  is  gone  the  way  of  all  living,  "What 
might  I  not  have  done  for  him  if  I  had  but 
taken  him  in  time ! "  Brethren,  let  that  anec- 
dote be  a  reminder  to  us  all  that  we  should 
seek  to  be  wise  in  winning  souls  before  it 
is  too  late  to  rescue  them  from  everlasting 
destruction. 

Seventhly,  and  lastly,  anecdotes  and  illus- 
trations are  exceedingly  useful  because  tlieti 
catch  the  ear  of  the  utterly  careless.  Something 
is  wanted  in  every  sermon  for  this  class  of 
people ;  and  an  anecdote  is  well  calculated  to 
catch  the  ear  of  the  thoughtless  and  the  un- 
godly. We  really  desire  their  salvation,  and 
we  would  bait  our  trap  in  any  way  possible 
by  which  we  might  catch  them  for  Christ.  We 
cannot  expect  our  young  people  to  come  and 
listen  to  learned  doctrinal  disquisitions  that 
are  not  at  all  embellished  with  anything  that 
interests  their  immature  minds.    Nay,  even 


96  THE  ART   OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

grown-up  people,  after  the  toils  of  the  week, 
some  of  them  busy  till  early  on  the  Sunday 
morning,  cannot  be  expected  to  attend  to  long 
prosaic  discourses  which  are  not  broken  by  a 
single  anecdote. 

Oh,  dear,  dear,  dear !  How  I  do  pity  those 
unpractical  brethren  who  do  not  seem  to  know 
to  whom  they  are  preaching !  "  Ah,"  said  a 
brother  once,  "whenever  I  preach,  I  do  not 
know  where  to  look,  and  so  I  look  up  at  the 
ventilator !  "  Now,  there  is  not  anybody  up  in 
the  ventilator;  there  cannot  be  supposed  to 
be  anybody  there,  unless  the  angels  of  heaven 
are  listening  there  to  hear  the  words  of  truth. 
A  minister  should  not  preach  before  the  peo- 
ple, but  he  should  preach  right  at  them ;  let 
him  look  straight  at  them  ;  if  he  can,  let  him 
search  them  through  and  through,  and  take 
stock  of  them,  as  it  were,  and  see  what  they 
are  like,  and  then  suit  his  message  to  them. 

I  have  often  seen  some  poor  fellow  standing 
in  the  aisle  at  the  Tabernacle.  Why,  he  looks 
just  like  a  sparrow  that  has  got  into  a  churcli 
and  cannot  get  out  again  !  He  cannot  make 
out  what  sort  of  servi<!e  it  is;  he  begins  to 
count  how  many  people  sit  in  the  front  row  in 
the  gallery,  and  all  kinds  of  ideas  pass  through 
his  mind.  Now  I  want  to  attract  his  atten- 
tion ;  how  shall  I  do  it  ?    If  I  quote  a  text  of 


ANECDOTES   AND  n^LUSTKATIONS.  97 

Scripture,  he  may  not  know  what  it  means, 
and  may  not  be  interested  in  it.  Shall  I  put 
a  bit  of  Latin  into  the  sermon,  or  quote  the 
original  Hebrew  or  Greek  of  my  text?  That 
will  not  do  for  such  a  man.  What  shall  I  do  ? 
Ah,  I  know  a  story  that  will,  I  believe,  just 
fit  him !  Out  it  comes,  and  the  man  does  not 
look  up  at  the  gallery  any  more;  but  he  is 
wondering  whatever  the  preacher  is  at.  Some- 
thing is  said  that  so  exactly  suits  his  case  that 
he  begins  to  ask  himself  who  has  been  telling 
the  minister  about  him,  and  he  thinks,  "  Why, 
I  know ;  my  wife  comes  to  hear  this  man  some- 
times, so  she  has  been  telling  him  all  about 
me !  "  Then  he  feels  curious  to  hear  more,  and 
while  he  is  looking  up  at  the  preacher,  and 
listening  to  the  truth  that  is  being  proclaimed, 
the  first  gleam  of  light  on  divine  things  dawns 
upon  him;  but  if  we  had  kept  on  with  our 
regular  discourse,  and  had  not  gone  out  of  our 
way,  what  might  have  become  of  that  man  I 
cannot  tell.  "  They  say  I  ramble,"  said  Eow- 
land  Hill,  in  a  sermon  I  have  been  reading 
this  afternoon ;  "  they  say  I  ramble,  but  it  is 
because  you  ramble,  and  I  am  obliged  to  ram- 
ble after  you.  They  say  I  do  not  stick  to  myj 
subject ;  but,  thank  God,  I  always  stick  to  myj 
object,  which  is,  the  winning  of  your  souls,' 
and  bringing  you  to  the  cross  of  Jesus  Christ !" 


98  THE  AET   OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

Mr.  Bertram  aptly  illustrates  tlie  way  in 
which  men  are  engrossed  in  worldly  cares  by 
telling  the  story  of  the  captain  of  a  whaling 
ship,  whom  he  tried  to  interest  in  the  things 
of  God,  and  who  said,  "  It  is  no  use,  sir ;  your 
conversation  will  not  have  any  effect  upon 
me.  I  cannot  hear  what  you  are  saying,  or 
understand  the  subject  you  are  talking  about. 
I  left  my  home  to  try  to  catch  whales ;  I  have 
been  a  year  and  nine  months  looking  for 
whales,  sir,  and  I  have  not  caught  a  whale  yet. 
I  have  been  plowing  the  deep  in  search  of 
whales ;  when  I  go  to  bed  I  dream  of  whales ; 
and  when  I  get  up  in  the  morning,  I  wonder 
if  there  will  be  any  whales  caught  that  day ; 
there  is  a  whale  in  my  heart,  sir,  a  whale  in 
my  brain,  and  it  is  of  no  use  for  you  to  talk 
to  me  about  anything  else  but  whales."  So, 
your  people  have  their  business  in  their  heads 
and  in  their  hearts;  they  want  to  make  a 
fortune  and  retire ;  or  else  they  have  a  family 
of  children  to  bring  up,  and  Susan  must  be 
married,  and  John  must  be  got  into  a  situa- 
tion, and  it  is  no  use  for  you  to  talk  to  them 
about  the  things  of  God  unless  you  can  drive 
away  the  whales  that  keep  floundering  and 
splashing  about. 

There  is  a  merchant,  perhaps,  who  has  just 
thought   of   some  bad  bill;   or  another  has 


ANECDOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.      99 

looked  across  the  building  and  noticed  a  piece 
of  ribbon  of  a  particular  color,  and  he  thinks, 
"Yes,  I  ought  to  have  had  a  larger  stock  of 
that  kind  of  thing,  I  see  that  it  is  getting 
fashionable ! "  or  it  may  be  that  one  of  the 
hearers  has  caught  sight  of  his  neighbor,  and 
he  thinks  he  must  pay  him  a  visit  on  the 
morrow;  and  so  people'.s  thoughts  are  occu- 
pied with  all  sorts  of  subjects  besides  that  of 
which  the  preacher  is  speaking.  You  ask  me 
how  I  know  that  this  is  the  case.  Well,  I  know 
because  I  have  been  guilty  of  the  same  offense 
myself ;  I  find  this  occur  when  I  am  listening 
to  another  brother  preaching.  I  do  not  think, 
when  I  am  preaching,  that  I  get  on  very  well ; 
but  sometimes,  when  I  go  into  the  country, 
and  take  the  morning  and  evening  services, 
and  then  hear  some  one  else  in  the  afternoon, 
I  think,  "Well,  really,  when  I  was  up  there,  I 
thought  I  was  a  stick :  but  noiv!  I  only  wish 
I  had  my  turn  again ! "  Now,  this  is  very 
wrong,  to  let  such  thoughts  come  into  our 
minds ;  but,  as  we  are  all  very  apt  to  wander, 
the  preacher  should  carry  anecdotes  and  illus- 
trations into  the  pulpit,  and  use  them  as  nails 
to  fasten  the  people's  attention  to  the  subject 
of  his  sermon. 

Mr.  Paxton  Hood  once  said  in  a  lecture  that 
I  heard  him  deliver,  "  Some  preachers  expect 


100  THE  AET   OF   ILLUSTEATION. 

too  much  of  their  hearers ;  they  take  a  number 
of  truths  into  the  pulpit  as  a  man  might  carry- 
up  a  box  of  nails;  and  then,  supposing  the 
congregation  to  be  posts,  they  take  out  a  nail, 
and  expect  it  to  get  into  the  post  by  itself. 
Now,  that  is  not  the  way  to  do  it.  You  must 
take  your  nail,  hold  it  up  against  the  post, 
hammer  it  in,  and  then  clinch  it  on  the  other 
side ;  and  then  it  is  that  you  may  expect  the 
great  Master  of  assemblies  to  fasten  the  nails 
so  that  they  will  not  fall  out."  We  must  try 
thus  to  get  the  truth  into  the  people,  for  it  will 
never  get  in  of  itself ;  and  we  must  remember 
that  the  hearts  of  our  hearers  are  not  open, 
like  a  church  door,  so  that  the  truth  may  go 
in,  and  take  its  place,  and  sit  upon  its  throne 
to  be  worshiped  there.  No,  we  have  often  to 
break  open  the  doors  with  great  effort,  and  to 
thrust  the  truth  into  places  where  it  will  not 
at  first  be  a  welcome  guest,  but  where,  after- 
ward, the  better  it  is  known,  the  more  it  will 
be  loved. 

Illustrations  and  anecdotes  will  greatly  help 
to  make  a  way  for  the  truth  to  enter ;  and  they 
will  do  it  by  catching  the  ear  of  the  careless 
and  the  inattentive.  We  must  try  to  be  like 
Mr.  Whitefield,  of  whom  a  shipbuilder  said, 
"When  I  have  been  to  hear  anybody  else 
preach,  I  have  always  been  able  to  lay  down 


ANECDOTES   AND  ILLUSTKATIONS.  101 

a  ship  from  stem  to  stern ;  but  when  I  hsten 
to  Mr.  Whitefield,  I  cannot  even  lay  the  keel." 
And  another,  a  weaver,  said,  "  I  have  often, 
when  I  have  been  in  church,  calculated  how 
many  looms  the  place  would  hold ;  but  when 
I  listen  to  that  man,  I  forget  my  weaving  al- 
together." You  must  endeavor,  brethren,  to 
make  your  people  forget  matters  relating  to 
this  world  by  interweaving  the  whole  of  divine 
truth  with  the  passing  things  of  every  day, 
and  this  you  will  do  by  a  judicious  use  of 
anecdotes  and  illustrations. 

Now,  gentlemen,  these  seven  reasons — that 
they  interest  the  mind  and  secure  the  atten- 
tion of  our  hearers,  that  they  render  the  teach- 
ing vivid  and  lifelike,  that  they  explain  some 
difficult  passages  to  dull  understandings,  that 
they  help  the  reasoning  faculties  of  certain 
minds,  that  they  aid  the  memory,  that  they 
arouse  the  feelings,  and  that  they  catch  the 
ear  of  the  careless — have  reconciled  me  for 
many  a  day  to  the  use  of  anecdotes  and  illus- 
trations, and  I  think  it  is  very  likely  that  they 
will  reconcile  you  to  the  use  of  them,  too. 

At  the  same  time,  I  must  repeat  what  I  be- 
fore said :  we  must  take  care  that  we  do  not  let 
our  anecdotes  and  illustrations  be  like  empty 
casks  that  carry  nothing.    We  must  not  have 


102  THE  ART   OF   ILLUSTRATION. 

it  truthfully  said  of  our  sermons,  as  was  said 
by  a  certain  lady  who,  after  having  heard  a 
clergyman  preach,  was  asked  what  she  thought 
of  the  sermon,  and  whether  there  was  not 
much  spirit  in  it.  "  Oh,  yes !  "  she  replied,  "  it 
was  all  spirit ;  there  was  no  body  to  it  at  all." 
There  must  be  some  "body"  in  every  dis- 
course, some  really  sound  doctrine,  some  suit- 
able instruction  for  our  hearers  to  carry  home ; 
not  merely  stories  to  amuse  them,  but  solid 
truth  to  be  received  in  the  heart,  and  wrought 
out  in  the  life.  If  this  be  so  with  your  ser- 
mons, my  dear  brethren,  I  shall  not  have 
spoken  to  you  in  vain  upon  the  uses  of  anec- 
dotes and  illustrations. 


LECTUEE  IV. 

WHERE   CAN  WE   FIND  ANECDOTES  AND   ILLUSTRA- 
TIONS 1 

Dear  brethren:  After  my  last  lecture  to 
you,  upon  the  uses  of  anecdotes  and  illustra- 
tions, you  are  probably  quite  ready  to  employ 
them  in  your  discourses;  but  some  of  you 
may  ask,  "  Where  can  we  get  thenif'  At  the 
very  beginning  of  this  afternoon's  talk,  let  me 
say  that  nobody  need  make  anecdotes  in  order 
to  interest  a  congregation.  I  have  heard  of 
one  who  called  to  see  a  minister  on  a  Friday, 
and  he  was  told  by  the  servant  that  her  master 
could  not  be  seen,  for  he  was  up  in  his  study 
"  making  anecdotes."  That  kind  of  work  will 
not  do  for  a  Christian  minister^  I  would  also 
bid  you  beware  of  the  many  common  anec- 
dotes, which  are  often  repeated,  but  which  I 
half  suspect  could  not  be  proved  to  be  matters 
of  fact.  Whenever  I  have  the  slightest  sus- 
picion about  the  truth  of  a  story,  I  drop  it  at 
once ;  and  I  think  that  every  one  else  should 
do  the  same.     So  long  as  the  anecdotes  are 

103 


104  THE   ART   OF   ILLUSTRATION. 

current,  and  are  generally  believed,  and  pro- 
vided they  can  be  used  for  a  profitable  pur- 
pose, I  believe  they  may  be  told,  without  any 
affirmation  as  to  their  truthfulness  being  made 
in  a  court  of  justice;  but  the  moment  any 
doubt  comes  across  the  mind  of  the  preacher 
as  to  whether  the  tale  is  at  least  founded  on 
fact,  I  think  he  had  better  look  for  something 
else,  for  he  has  the  whole  world  to  go  to  as  a 
storehouse  of  illustration. 

\/  If  you  want  to  interest  your  congregation, 
and  keep  up  their  attention,  you  can  find 
anecdotes  and  illustrations  in  many  channels, 
like  golden  grains  glistening  among  the  moun- 
tain streams.  For  instance,  there  is  current 
history.  You  may  take  up  the  daily  news- 
paper, and  find  illustrations  there.  In  my 
little  book,  "The  Bible  and  the  Newspaper," 
I  have  given  specimens  of  how  this  may  be 
done ;  and  when  I  was  preparing  the  present 
lecture,  I  took  up  a  newspaper  to  see  if  I  could 
find  an  illustration  in  it,  and  I  soon  found 
one.  There  was  an  account  of  a  man  at 
Wandsworth,  who  was  discovered,  with  a  gun 
and  a  dog,  trespassing  on  some  gentleman's 
preserves,  and  he  said  that  he  was  only  look- 
ing for  mushrooms  I  Can  you  imagine  what 
the  gun  and  the  dog  had  to  do  with  mush- 


ANECDOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.     105 

rooms?  However,  the  keeper  felt  in  the 
man's  pocket,  and  laying  hold  of  something- 
soft,  asked,  "What  is  this!"  ''Oh,"  said  the 
poacher,  "  it  is  only  a  rabbit !  "  When  it  was 
suggested  to  him  that  the  creature's  ears  were 
too  long  for  a  rabbit,  he  said  that  it  was  only 
a  leveret,  whereas  it  proved  to  be  a  very  fine 
and  plump  hare.  The  man  then  said  that  he 
had  found  the  hare  lying  near  some  mush- 
rooms, but  his  intention  was  to  get  the  mush- 
rooms only !  Now,  that  is  a  capital  illustra- 
tion. As  soon  as  ever  you  lay  hold  of  a  man, 
and  begin  to  accuse  him  of  sin,  he  says,  "  Sin, 
sir !  Oh,  dear,  no  !  I  was  only  doing  a  very 
proper  thing,  just  what  I  have  a  perfect  right 
to  do ;  I  was  looking  for  mushrooms ;  I  was 
not  poaching !  "  You  press  him  a  little  more 
closely,  and  try  to  bring  him  to  conviction  of 
sin ;  and  then  he  says,  "  Well,  perhaps  it  was 
hardly  the  thing,  it  may  have  been  a  little 
amiss ;  but  it  was  only  a  rabbit !  "  When  the 
man  cannot  any  longer  deny  that  he  is  guilty 
of  sin,  he  says  that  it  was  only  a  very  little 
one ;  and  it  is  long  before  you  can  get  him  to 
admit  that  sin  is  exceeding  sinful ;  indeed,  no 
human  power  can  ever  produce  genuine  con- 
viction in  the  heart  of  a  single  sinner ;  it  must 
be  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

I  also  read  in  the  same  newspaper  of  a  ca- 


106  THE   AKT   OF   ILLUSTRATION. 

lamitous  shipwreck  caused  through  the  lack 
of  lights.    You  could  easily  turn  that  incident 
to  account  by  using  it  to  illustrate  the  destruc- 
tion of  souls  through  the  want  of  a  knowledge 
of  Christ,     I  have  no  doubt,  if  you  were  to 
take  up  any  of  this  morning's  daily  papers, 
you  would  very  readily  find  an  abundance  of 
illustrations.    Mr.  Newman  Hall,  in  addressing 
us  once,  said  that  every  Christian  minister 
ought  to  read   regularly  his  Bible   and  The 
Times  newspaper^    I  should  imagine  from  the 
usual  mode  of  his  address  that  he  does  so  him- 
self.   Whether  you  read  that  particular  paper 
or  any  other,  you  should  somehow  keep  your» 
selves  well  stored  with  illustrations  taken  from 
the  ordinary  transactions  going  on  round  about 
you,     I  pity  even  a  Sundaj^-school  teacher, 
j  much  more  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  who  could 
\  not  make  use  of  such  incidents  as  the  terrible 
/burning  of  the  church  at  Santiago,  the  great 
«<■  fire  at  London  Bridge,  the  entrance  into  Lon- 
jdon  of  the  Princess  Alexandra,  the  taking  of 
ithe  census ;  and,  indeed,  anything  that  attracts 
/  public  attention.     There  is  in  all  these  events 
I  an  illustration,  a  simile,  an  allegory,  which 
Saaay  point  a  moral  and  adorn  a  tale. 

You  may  sometimes  adapt  local  history  to 
the  illustration  of  your  subject.    When  a  min- 


ANECDOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  107 

ister  is  preaching  in  any  particular  district  he 
will  often  find  it  best  to  catch  the  ears  of  the 
people,  and  engross  their  attention,  by  relating 
some  anecdote  that  relates  to  the  place  where 
they  live.  Whenever  I  can,  I  get  the  histories 
of  various  counties ;  for,  having  to  go  into  all 
sorts  of  country  towns  and  villages  to  preach, 
I  find  that  there  is  a  great  deal  of  useful  mate- 
rial to  be  dug  out  of  even  dull,  dry,  topograph- 
ical books.  They  begin,  perhaps,  with  the 
name  of  John  Smith,  laborer,  the  man  who 
keeps  the  parish  register,  and  winds  up  the 
parish  clock,  and  makes  mouse-traps,  and 
catches  rats,  and  does  fifty  other  useful  things ; 
but  if  you  have  the  patience  to  read  on,  you 
will  find  much  information  that  you  could 
get  nowhere  else,  and  you  will  probably  meet 
with  many  incidents  and  anecdotes  that  you 
can  use  as  illustrations  of  the  truth  you  are 
seeking  to  set  forth. 

Preaching  at  Winslow,  in  Buckinghamshire, 
it  would  not  be  at  all  amiss  to  introduce  the 
incident  of  good  Benjamin  Keach,  the  pastor 
of  the  Baptist  church  in  that  town,  standing 
in  the  pillory  in  the  market-place  in  the  year 
1664,  "  for  writing,  printing,  and  publishing  a 
schismatical  book  entitled,  ^The  Child's  In- 
structor ;  or,  a  New  and  Easy  Primmer.' "  I 
do  not  think,  however,  that  if  I  were  preaching 


108  THE  ART   OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

at  Wapping  I  should  call  the  people  "  Wapping 
sinners,"  as  Rowland  Hill  is  said  to  have  done, 
when  he  told  them  that  "  Christ  could  save 
old  sinners,  great  sinners,  yea,  even  Wapping 
sinners !  "  At  Craven  Chapel  it  would  be  most 
appropriate  to  tell  the  story  of  Lord  Craven, 
who  was  packing  up  his  goods  to  go  into  the 
country  at  the  time  of  the  Great  Plague  of 
London,  when  his  servant  said  to  him,  "My 
lord,  does  your  God  live  only  in  the  country?" 
"  No,"  replied  Lord  Craven,  "  he  is  here  as  well 
as  there."  "  Well,  then,"  said  the  servant,  "  if 
I  were  your  lordship,  I  think  I  would  stop 
here ;  you  will  be  as  safe  in  the  city  as  in  the 
country ;  "  and  Lord  Craven  did  stop  there,  re- 
lying upon  the  good  providence  of  God. 

Besides  this,  brethren,  you  have  the  marvel- 
ous storehouse  of  ancient  and  modern  history — 
Roman,  Greek,  and  English — with  which,  of 
course,  you  are  seeking  to  become  well  ac- 
quainted. Who  can  possibly  read  the  old 
classic  tales  without  feeling  his  soul  on  fire? 
As  you  rise  from  their  perusal,  you  will  not 
merely  be  familiar  with  the  events  which  hap- 
pened in  "  the  brave  days  of  old,"  but  you  will 
have  learned  many  lessons  that  may  be  of  ser- 
vice in  your  preaching  to-day.  For  instance, 
there  is  the  story  of  Phidias  and  the  statue  of 


ANECDOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.     109 

^he  god  which  he  had  carved.  After  he  had 
'finished  it,  he  had  chiseled  in  the  corner,  in 
small  letters,  the  word  ''  Phidias,"  and  it  was 
objected  that  the  statue  could  not  be  worshiped 
as  a  god,  nor  considered  sacred,  while  it  bore 
the  sculptor's  name.  It  was  even  seriously 
questioned  whether  Phidias  should  not  be 
stoned  to  death  because  he  had  so  desecrated 
the  statue.  How  could  he  dare,  they  asked,  to 
put  his  own  name  on  the  image  of  a  god  I  So, 
some  of  us  are  very  apt  to  want  to  put  our 
little  names  down  at  the  bottom  of  any  work 
which  we  have  done  for  God,  that  we  may  be 
remembered,  whereas  we  ought  rather  to  up- 
braid oiu'selves  for  wishing  to  have  any  of 
the  credit  of  that  which  God  the  Holy  Ghost 
enables  us  to  do. 

Then  there  is  that  other  story  of  an  ancient 
sculptor,  who  was  about  to  put  the  image  of  a 
god  into  a  heathen  temple,  although  he  had 
not  finished  that  portion  of  the  statue  which 
was  to  be  embedded  in  the  wall.  The  priest 
demurred,  and  declared  that  the  statue  was 
not  completed.  The  sculptor  said,  "  That  part 
of  the  god  will  never  be  seen,  for  it  will  be 
built  into  the  wall."  "  The  gods  can  see  in 
the  wall,"  answered  the  priest.  In  like  man- 
ner, the  most  private  parts  of  our  life — those 
secret  matters  that  can  never  reach  the  human 


110  THE  AET   OF   ILLUSTKATION. 

eye — are  still  under  the  ken  of  the  Almighty, 
and  ought  to  be  attended  to  with  the  greatest 
care.  It  is  not  sufficient  for  us  to  maintain 
our  public  reputation  among  our  fellow-crea- 
tures, for  our  God  can  see  in  the  wall ;  he  no- 
tices our  coldness  in  the  closet  of  communion, 
and  he  perceives  our  faults  and  failures  in  the 
family. 

Trying  once  to  set  forth  how  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  delights  in  his  people  because  they  are 
his  own  handiwork,  I  found  a  classic  story  of 
Cyrus  extremely  useful.  When  showing  a 
foreign  ambassador  round  his  garden,  Cyrus 
said  to  him,  "  You  cannot  possibly  take  such 
an  interest  in  these  flowers  and  trees  as  I  do, 
for  I  laid  out  the  whole  garden  myself,  and 
every  plant  here  I  planted  with  my  own  hand. 
I  have  watered  them,  and  I  have  seen  them 
grow,  I  have  been  a  husbandman  to  them,  and 
therefore  I  love  them  far  better  than  you  can." 
So,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  loves  the  fair  garden 
of  his  church,  because  he  laid  it  all  out,  and 
planted  it  with  his  own  gracious  hand,  and  he 
has  watched  over  every  plant,  and  nourished 
and  cherished  it. 

The  days  of  the  Crusaders  are  a  peculiarly 
rich  period  for  noble  stories  that  will  make 
good  illustrations.  We  read  that  the  soldiers 
of  Godfrey  de  Bouillon,  when  they  came  within 


ANECDOTES   AND   ILLUSTKATIONS.  Ill 

sight  of  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  were  so  charmed 
with  the  view  that  they  fell  on  their  faces, 
and  then  rose  to  their  feet,  and  clapped  their 
hands,  and  made  the  mountains  ring  with  their 
shouts  of  joy.  Thus,  when  we  get  within  sight 
of  the  New  Jerusalem,  our  happy  home  on 
high,  whose  name  is  ever  dear  to  us,  we  will 
make  our  dying-chamber  ring  with  hallelujahs, 
and  even  the  angels  shall  hear  our  songs  of 
praise  and  thanksgiving.  It  is  also  recorded, 
concerning  this  same  Godfrey,  that,  when  he 
had  entered  Jerusalem  at  the  head  of  his  vic- 
torious army,  he  refused  to  wear  the  crown 
with  which  his  soldiers  wanted  to  deck  his 
brow.  ^'  For,"  said  he,  "  why  should  I  wear  a 
crown  of  gold  in  the  city  where  my  Lord  wore 
a  crown  of  thorns ! "  This  is  a  good  lesson  for 
us  to  learn  for  ourselves,  and  to  teach  to  our 
people.  In  the  world  where  Christ  was  de- 
spised and  rejected  of  men,  it  would  be  un- 
seemly for  a  Christian  to  be  seeking  to  win 
earthly  honors,  or  ambitiously  hunting  after 
fame.  The  disciple  must  not  think  of  being 
above  his  Master,  nor  the  servant  above  his 
Lord. 

Then  you  might  easily  make  an  illustration 
out  of  that  romantic  story,  which  may  or  may 
not  be  true,  of  Queen  Eleanor  sucking  the 
poison  out  of  her  husband's  wounded  arm. 


112  THE   AKT   OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

Many  of  us,  I  trust,  would  be  willing,  as  it 
were,  to  suck  out  all  the  slander  and  venom 
from  the  arm  of  Christ's  church,  and  to  bear 
any  amount  of  suffering  ourselves,  so  long  as 
the  church  itself  might  escape  and  live.  Would 
not  any  one  of  you,  my  brethren,  gladly  put 
his  lips  to  the  envenomed  wounds  of  the  church 
to-day,  and  suffer  even  unto  death,  sooner  than 
let  the  doctrines  of  Christ  he  impugned,  and 
the  cause  of  God  be  dishonored  I 

What  a  fine  field  of  illustration  lies  open  to 
you  in  religwus  hisforf/f  It  is  difficult  to  tell 
where  to  begin  digging  in  this  mine  of  precious 
treasure.  The  story  of  Luther  and  the  Jew 
might  be  used  to  set  forth  the  evil  of  sin,  and 
how  to  avoid  it.  A  Jew  was  seeking  an 
opportunity  of  stabbing  the  Reformer;  but 
Luther  received  a  portrait  of  the  would-be 
murderer,  so  that,  wherever  he  went,  he  was 
on  his  guard  against  the  assassin.  Using  this 
fact  himself  as  an  illustration,  Luther  said: 
''  God  knows  that  there  are  sins  that  would 
destroy  us,  and  he  has  therefore  given  us  por- 
traits of  them  in  his  Word,  so  that,  wherever 
we  see  them,  we  may  say,  ^  That  is  a  sin  that 
would  stab  me;  I  must  beware  of  that  evil 
thing,  and  keep  out  of  its  way.'" 

Stout  Hugh  Latimer,  in  that  famous  story 


ANECDOTES   AND   ILLUSTRATIONS.  113 

of  an  incident  in  his  trial  before  several  bish- 
ops, brings  out  very  clearly  the  omnipresence 
and  omniscience  of  God,  and  the  care  that  we 
ought  to  exercise  in  the  presence  of  One  who 
can  read  our  most  secret  thoughts  and  imagi- 
nations. He  says :  "  I  was  once  in  examina- 
tion before  five  or  six  bishops,  where  I  had 
much  trouble;  thrice  every  week  I  came  to 
examinations,  and  many  traps  and  snares 
were  laid  to  get  something.  ...  At  last  I 
was  brought  forth  to  be  examined  in  a  cham- 
ber hung  with  arras,  where  I  was  wont  to  be 
examined ;  but  now  at  this  time  the  chamber 
was  somewhat  altered.  For  whereas,  before, 
there  was  wont  always  to  be  a  fire  in  the 
chimney,  now  the  fire  was  taken  away,  and 
arras  hung  over  the  chimney,  and  the  table 
stood  near  the  fireplace.  There  was,  among 
the  bishops  who  examined  me,  one  with  whom 
I  had  been  very  familiar,  and  took  him  for  my 
great  friend,  an  aged  man,  and  he  sat  next  to 
the  table's  end.  Then,  among  all  other  ques- 
tions, he  put  forth  a  very  subtle  and  crafty 
one,  and  such  a  one,  indeed,  as  I  could  not 
think  so  great  danger  in.  And  when  I  should 
make  answer,  '  I  pray  you,  Mr.  Latimer,'  said 
one,  *  speak  out ;  I  am  very  thick  of  hearing, 
and  there  may  be  many  that  sit  far  off.'  I 
marveled  at  this,  that  I  was  bid  to  speak  out, 


114  THE  ART   OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

and  began  to  suspect,  and  give  an  ear  to  the 
chimney ;  and  there  I  heard  a  pen  writing  in 
the  chimney  behind  the  cloth.  They  had  ap- 
pointed one  there  to  write  all  mine  answers, 
for  they  made  sure  that  I  should  not  start  from 
them ;  and  there  was  no  starting  from  them. 
God  was  my  good  Lord,  and  gave  me  answer, 
else  I  could  never  have  escaped."  Preaching, 
some  years  afterward,  Latimer  himself  told 
the  story,  and  applied  the  illustration.  "  My 
hearer,"  said  he,  "  there  is  a  recording  pen  al- 
ways at  work  behind  the  arras,  taking  down 
all  thou  sayest,  and  noting  all  thou  doest: 
therefore  be  thou  careful  that  thy  words  and 
acts  are  worthy  of  record  in  God's  Book  of 
Remembrance." 

You  might  aptly  illustrate  the  doctrine  of 
God's  special  providential  care  of  his  servants 
by  relating  the  story  of  John  Knox,  who,  one 
evening,  refused  to  sit  in  his  usual  seat,  though 
he  did  not  know  any  particular  reason  for  so 
acting.  No  one  was  allowed  to  occupy  that 
chair,  and  during  the  evening  a  shot  came  in 
through  the  window,  and  struck  a  candlestick 
that  stood  immediately  opposite  where  John 
Knox  would  have  been  sitting  if  he  had  taken 
his.  accustomed  place.  There  is  also  the  case 
of  the  godly  minister,  who,  in  escaping  from 
his  persecutors,  went  into  a  hay-loft,  and  hid 


ANECDOTES   AND  ILLUSTKATIONS.  115 

himself  in  the  hay.  The  soldiers  went  into 
the  place,  pricking  and  thrusting  with  their 
swords  and  bayonets,  and  the  good  man  even 
felt  the  cold  steel  touch  the  sole  of  his  foot, 
and  the  scratch  which  was  made  remained  for 
years :  yet  his  enemies  did  not  discover  him. 
Afterward  a  hen  came  and  laid  an  egg  every 
day  hard  by  the  place  where  he  was  hidden, 
and  so  he  was  sustained  as  well  as  preserved 
until  it  was  safe  for  him  to  leave  his  hiding- 
place.  It  was  either  the  same  minister,  or  one 
of  his  persecuted  brethren,  who  was  providen- 
tially protected  by  such  a  humble  agent  as  a 
spider.  This  is  the  story  as  I  have  read  it : 
"Receiving  friendly  warning  of  an  intended 
attempt  to  apprehend  him,  and  finding  men 
were  on  his  track,  he  took  refuge  in  a  malt- 
house,  and  crept  into  the  empty  kiln,  where 
he  lay  down.  Immediately  after,  he  saw  a 
spider  lower  itself  across  the  narrow  entrance 
by  which  he  had  got  in,  thus  fixing  the  first 
line  of  what  was  soon  wrought  into  a  large 
and  beautiful  web.  The  weaver  and  the  web, 
placed  directly  between  him  and  the  light,  were 
very  conspicuous.  He  was  so  much  struck 
with  the  skill  and  diligence  of  the  spider,  and 
so  much  absorbed  in  watchmg  her  work,  that 
he  forgot  his  own  danger.  By  the  time  the 
network  was  completed^  crossing  and  re-cross- 


116  THE  ART   OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

ing  the  mouth  of  the  kihi  in  every  direction, 
his  pursuers  came  into  the  malt-house  to  search 
for  him.  He  noted  their  steps,  and  Kstened  to 
their  cruel  words  while  they  looked  about. 
Then  they  came  close  to  the  kiln,  and  he  over- 
heard one  say  to  another,  *  It's  no  use  to  look 
in  there ;  the  old  villain  can  never  be  there : 
\y' look  at  that  spidefs  weh ;  he  could  never  have 
got  in  there  without  breaking  it.''  Without  fur- 
ther search  they  went  to  seek  elsewhere,  and 
he  escaped  safely  out  of  their  hands." 

There  is  another  story  I  have  somewhere 
met  with,  of  a  prisoner,  during  the  American 
war,  who  was  put  into  a  cell  in  which  there 
was  a  little  slit,  through  which  a  soldier\s  eye 
always  watched  him  day  and  night.  What- 
ever the  prisoner  did,  whether  he  ate,  or  drank, 
or  slept,  the  sentinel's  eye  was  perpetually  gaz- 
ing at  him ;  and  the  thought  of  it,  he  said,  was 
perfectly  dreadful  to  him,  it  almost  drove  him 
mad ;  he  could  not  bear  the  idea  of  having  that 
man's  eye  always  scrutinizing  him.  He  could 
scarcely  sleep;  his  very  breathing  became  a 
misery,  because,  turn  which  way  he  would,  he 
could  never  escape  from  the  gaze  of  that  sol- 
dier's eye.  That  story  might  be  used  as  an 
illustration  of  the  fact  that  God's  omniscient 
eye  is  always  looking  at  every  one  of  us. 
I  remember  making  two  or  three  of  my  con- 


ANECDOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.     117 

gregation  speak  out  pretty  loudly  by  telling 
them  this  story,  which  I  read  iu  a  tract.  I 
suppose  it  may  be  true ;  I  receive  it  as  reliable, 
and  I  wish  I  could  tell  it  as  it  is  printed.  A 
Christian  minister,  residing  near  the  back- 
woods, took  a  walk  one  evening  for  silent 
meditation.  He  went  much  farther  than  he 
intended,  and,  missing  the  track,  wandered 
away  into  the  woods.  He  kept  on,  endeavor- 
ing to  find  the  road  to  his  home ;  but  failed  to 
do  so.  He  was  afraid  that  he  would  have  to 
spend  the  night  in  some  tree ;  but  suddenly, 
as  he  was  going  forward,  he  saw  the  glimmer 
of  lights  in  the  distance,  and  therefore  pressed 
on,  hoping  to  find  shelter  in  a  friendly  cottage. 
A  strange  sight  met  his  gaze ;  a  meeting  was 
being  held  in  a  clearing  in  the  middle  of  the 
woods,  the  place  being  lit  up  with  blazing 
pine-torches.  He  thought,  *^Well,  here  are 
some  Christian  people  met  to  worship  God ;  I 
am  glad  that  what  I  thought  was  an  awkward 
mistake  in  losing  my  way  has  brought  me 
here ;  I  may,  perhaps,  both  do  good  and  get 
good." 

To  his  horror,  however,  he  found  that  it 
was  an  atheistical  gathering,  and  that  the 
speakers  were  venting  their  blasphemous 
thoughts  against  Grod  with  very  great  bold- 
ness  and    determination.     The  minister  sat 


118  THE  ART   OF   ILLUSTEATION. 

down  full  of  grief.  A  young  man  declared 
that  he  did  not  believe  in  the  existence  of  Grod, 
and  dared  Jehovah  to  destroy  him  then  and 
there  if  there  was  such  a  Grod.  The  good 
man's  heart  was  meditating  how  he  ought  to 
reply,  but  his  tongue  seemed  to  cleave  to  the 
roof  of  his  mouth ;  and  the  infidel  orator  sat 
down  amid  loud  acclamations  of  admiration 
and  approval.  Our  friend  did  not  wish  to  be 
a  craven,  or  to  hold  back  in  the  day  of  battle, 
and  therefore  he  was  almost  inclined  to  rise 
and  speak,  when  a  hale,  burly  man,  who  had 
passed  the  meridian  of  life,  but  who  was  still 
exceedingly  vigorous,  and  seemed  a  strong, 
muscular  clearer  of  the  backwoods,  rose  and 
said,  "  I  should  like  to  speak  if  you  will  give 
me  a  hearing.  I  am  not  going  to  say  any- 
thing about  the  topic  which  has  been  dis- 
cussed by  the  orator  who  has  just  sat  down ; 
I  am  only  going  to  tell  you  a  fact :  will  you 
hear  me  ?  "  "  Yes,  yes,"  they  shouted ;  it  was 
a  free  discussion,  so  they  would  hear  him,  es- 
pecially as  he  was  not  going  to  controvert. 
"  A  week  ago,"  he  began,  ""  I  was  working  up 
yonder,  on  the  river's  bank,  felling  trees.  You 
know  the  rapids  down  below.  Well,  while  I 
was  at  my  employment,  at  some  little  distance 
from  them,  I  heard  cries  and  shrieks,  mingled 
with  prayers  to  Grod  for  help.     I  ran  down  to 


ANECDOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.     Il9 

the  water's  edge,  for  I  guessed  what  was  the 
matter.  There  I  saw  a  young  man,  who  could 
not  manage  his  boat ;  the  current  was  getting 
the  mastery  of  him,  and  he  was  drifting  down 
the  stream,  and  ere  long,  unless  some  one  had 
interposed,  he  would  most  certainly  have  been 
swept  over  the  falls,  and  carried  down  to  a 
dreadful  death.  I  saw  that  young  man  kneel 
down  in  the  boat,  and  pray  to  the  Most  High 
God,  by  the  love  of  Christ,  and  by  his  precious 
blood,  to  save  him.  He  confessed  that  he  had 
been  an  infidel;  but  said  that,  if  he  might  but 
be  delivered  this  once,  he  would  declare  his 
belief  in  God.  I  at  once  sprang  into  the  river. 
My  arms  are  not  very  weak,  I  think,  though 
they  are  not  so  strong  as  they  used  to  be.  I 
managed  to  get  into  the  boat,  turned  her 
round,  brought  her  to  the  shore,  and  so  I  saved 
that  young  man's  life ;  and  that  young  man  is 
the  one  who  has  just  sat  down,  and  who  has 
been  denying  the  existence  of  God,  and  dar- 
ing the  Most  High  to  destroy  him ! "  Of 
course  I  used  that  story  to  show  that  it  was 
an  easy  thing  to  brag  and  boast  about  holding- 
infidel  sentiments  in  a  place  of  safety;  but 
that,  when  men  come  into  peril  of  their  lives, 
then  they  talk  in  a  very  different  fashion. 

There  is  a  capital  story,  which  exemplifies 
the  need  of  going  up  to  the  house  of  God,  not 


120  THE   ART   OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

merely  to  listen  to  the  preacher,  but  to  seek 
the  Lord.  A  certain  lady  had  gone  to  the  com- 
munion in  a  Scotch  church,  and  had  greatly 
enjoyed  the  service.  When  she  reached  her 
home,  she  inquired  who  the  preacher  was,  and 
slie  was  informed  that  it  was  Mr.  Ebenezer 
Erskine.  The  lady  said  that  she  would  go 
again,  the  next  Sabbath,  to  hear  him.  She 
went,  but  she  was  not  profited  in  the  least ;  the 
sermon  did  not  seem  to  have  any  unction  or 
power  about  it.  She  went  to  Mr.  Erskine,  and 
told  him  of  her  experience  at  the  two  services. 
"  Ah,  madam,"  said  he,  *'  the  first  Sabbath  you 
came  to  meet  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  you 
had  a  blessing ;  but  the  second  Sabbath  you 
came  to  hear  Ebenezer  Erskine,  and  you  had 
no  blessing,  and  you  had  no  right  to  expect 
any."  You  see,  brethren,  a  preacher  might 
talk  to  the  people,  in  general  terms,  about 
coming  to  worship  Gotl,  and  not  merely  to 
hear  the  minister,  yet  no  effect  might  be  pro- 
duced by  his  words,  for  there  might  not  be 
anything  sufficiently  striking  to  remain  in  the 
memory ;  but  after  such  an  anecdote  as  this  one 
about  Mr.  Erskine  and  the  lady,  who  could  for- 
get the  lesson  that  was  intended  to  be  taught  I 

Well,  now,  supposing   that   you   have  ex- 
hausted all  the  illustrations  to  be  found  in 


ANECDOTES   AND   ILLUSTRATIONS.  121 

current  history,  in  local  history,  in  ancient  and 
modern  history,  and  in  religious  history — 
which  I  do  not  think  you  will  do  unless  you 
are  yourselves  exhausted — you  may  then  turn 
to  natural  history^  where  you  will  find  illustra- 
tions and  anecdotes  in  great  abundance ;  and 
you  need  never  feel  any  qualms  of  conscience 
about  using  the  facts  of  nature  to  illustrate 
the  truths  of  Scripture,  because  there  is  a 
sound  philosophy  to  support  the  use  of  such 
illustrations.  It  is  a  fact  that  can  easily  be 
accounted  for,  that  people  will  more  readily 
receive  the  truth  of  revelation  if  you  link  it 
with  some  kindred  truth  in  natural  history,  or 
anything  that  is  visible  to  the  eye,  than  if  you 
give  them  a  bare  statement  of  the  doctrine 
itself.  Besides,  there  is  this  important  fact 
that  must  not  be  forgotten :  the  God  who  is 
the  Author  of  revelation  is  also  the  Author 
of  creation,  and  providence,  and  history,  and 
everything  else  from  which  you  ought  to 
draw  your  illustrations.  When  you  use  natu- 
ral history  to  illustrate  the  Scriptures,  you  are 
only  explaining  one  of  God's  books  by  another 
volume  that  he  has  written. 

It  is  just  as  if  you  had  before  you  two  works 
by  one  author,  who  had,  in  the  first  place, 
written  a  book  for  children ;  and  then,  in  the 
second  place,  had  prepared  a  volume  of  more 


122  THE  ART  OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

profound  instruction  for  persons  of  riper  years 
and  higher  culture.  At  times,  when  you  found 
obscure  and  difficult  passages  in  the  work 
meant  for  the  more  advanced  scholars,  you 
would  refer  to  the  little  book  which  was  in- 
tended for  the  younger  folk,  and  you  would 
say,  "  We  know  that  this  means  so-and-so,  be- 
cause that  is  how  the  matter  is  explained  in 
the  book  for  beginners.^  So  creation,  provi- 
dence, and  history  are  all  books  which  God 
has  written  for  those  to  read  who  have  eyes, 
written  for  those  who  have  ears  to  hear  his 
voice  in  them,  written  even  for  carnal  men  to 
read,  that  they  may  see  something  of  God 
therein.  But  the  other  glorious  Book  is  writ- 
ten for  you  who  are  taught  of  God,  and  made 
spiritual  and  holy.  Oftentimes,  by  turning  to 
the  primer,  you  will  get  something  out  of  that 
simple  narrative  which  will  elucidate  and  il- 
lustrate the  more  difficult  classic,  for  that  is 
what  the  Word  of  God  is  to  you. 

There  is  a  certain  type  of  thought  which 
God  has  followed  in  all  things.  What  he 
made  with  his  Word  has  a  similarity  to  the 
Word  itself  by  which  he  made  it;  and  the 
visible  is  the  symbol  of  the  invisible,  because 
the  same  thought  of  God  runs  through  it  all. 
There  is  a  touch  of  the  divine  finger  in  all  that 
God  has  made ;  so  that  the  things  which  are 


ANECDOTES   AND   ILLUSTRATIONS.  123 

apparent  to  our  senses  have  certain  resem- 
blances to  the  things  which  do  not  appear. 
That  which  can  be  seen,  and  tasted,  and 
touched,  and  handled  is  meant  to  be  to  us  the 
outward  and  visible  sign  of  a  something  which 
we  find  in  the  Word  of  God,  and  in  our  spirit- 
ual experience,  which  is  the  inward  and  the 
spiritual  grace ;  so  that  there  is  nothing  forced 
and  unnatural  in  bringing  nature  to  illustrate 
grace ;  it  was  ordained  of  Grod  for  that  very 
purpose.  Range  over  the  whole  of  creation 
for  your  similes ;  do  not  confine  yourself  to 
any  particular  branch  of  natural  history.  The 
congregation  of  one  very  learned  doctor  com- 
plained that  he  gave  them  spiders  continuously 
by  way  of  illustration.  It  would  be  better  to 
give  the  people  a  spider  or  two  occasionally, 
and  then  to  vary  the  instruction  by  stories, 
and  anecdotes,  and  similes,  and  metaphors 
drawn  from  geology,  astronomy,  botany,  or 
any  of  the  other  sciences  which  will  help  to 
shed  a  side-light  upon  the  Scriptures. 

If  you  keep  your  eyes  open,  you  will  not  see 
even  a  dog  following  his  master,  nor  a  mouse 
peeping  up  from  his  hole,  nor  will  you  hear 
even  a  gentle  scratching  behind  the  wainscot 
without  getting  something  to  weave  into  your 
sermons  if  your  faculties  are  all  on  the  alert. 
When  you  go  home  to-night,  and  sit  by  your 


124  THE   ART   OF   ILLUSTRATION. 

fireside,  you  ouglit  not  to  be  able  to  take  up 
your  domestic  cat  without  finding  that  which 
will  furnish  you  with  an  illustration.  How 
soft  are  pussy's  pads,  and  yet,  in  a  moment,  if 
she  is  angered,  how  sharp  will  be  her  claws ! 
How  like  to  temptation,  soft  and  gentle  when 
first  it  cometh  to  us,  but  how  deadl}^,  how 
danniable  the  wounds  it  causeth  ere  long ! 

I  recollect  using,  with  very  considerable 
effect  in  a  sermon,  an  incident  that  occurred 
in  my  own  garden.  There  was  a  dog  which 
was  in  the  habit  of  coming  through  the  fence 
and  scratching  in  my  flower  beds,  to  the  man- 
ifest spoiling  of  the  gardener's  toil  and  temper. 
Walking  in  the  garden  one  Saturday  afternoon, 
and  preparing  my  sermon  for  the  following 
day,  I  saw  the  four-footed  creature — rather  a 
scurvy  specimen,  by  the  by — and  having  a 
walking-stick  in  my  hand,  I  threw  it  at  him 
with  all  my  might,  at  the  same  time  giving 
him  some  good  advice  about  going  home. 
Now,  what  should  my  canine  friend  do  but 
turn  round,  pick  up  the  stick  in  his  mouth, 
and  bring  it,  and  lay  it  down  at  my  feet, 
wagging  his  tail  all  the  while  in  expectation 
of  my  thanks  and  kind  words?  Of  course, 
you  do  not  suppose  that  I  kicked  him,  or 
threw  the  stick  at  him  any  more.  I  felt  quite 
ashamed  of  myself,  and  I  told  him  that  he  was 


ANECDOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.     125 

welcome  to  stay  as  long  as  he  liked,  and  to 
come  as  often  as  he  pleased.  There  was  an 
instance  of  the  power  of  non-resistance,  sub- 
mission, patience,  and  trust,  in  overcoming 
even  righteous  anger.  I  used  that  illustration 
in  preaching  the  next  day,  and  I  did  not  feel 
that  I  had  at  all  degraded  myself  by  telling 
the  story. 

Most  of  us  have  read  Alphonse  Karr's  book, 
"  A  Tour  Round  my  Garden."  Why  does  not 
somebody  write  "  A  Tour  Round  my  Dining- 
Table,"  or,  "  A  Tour  Round  my  Kitchen  "  !  I 
believe  a  most  interesting  volume  of  the  kind 
might  be  written  by  any  man  who  had  his 
eyes  open  to  see  the  analogies  of  nature.  I 
remember  that,  one  day,  when  I  lived  in  Cam- 
bridge, I  wanted  a  sermon  very  badly ;  and  I 
could  not  fix  upon  a  subject,  when,  all  at  once, 
I  noticed  a  number  of  birds  on  the  slates  of 
the  opposite  house.  As  I  looked  closely  at 
them,  I  saw  that  there  was  a  canary,  which 
had  escaped  from  somebody's  house,  and  a  lot 
of  sparrows  had  surrounded  it,  and  kept  peck- 
ing at  it.  There  was  my  text  at  once :  "  Mine 
heritage  is  unto  me  as  a  speckled  bird,  the 
birds  round  about  are  against  her." 

Once  more,  brethren,  if  you  cannot  find  il- 
lustrations in  natural  history,  or  any  of  the 


126  THE   ART   OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

other  histories  I  have  mentioned,  find  them 
anyivhere.  Anything  that  occurs  around  you, 
if  you  have  but  brains  in  your  head,  will  be  of 
service  to  you ;  but  if  you  are  really  to  interest 
and  profit  your  congregations,  you  will  need 
to  keep  your  eyes  open,  and  to  use  all  the 
powers  with  which  the  Lord  has  endowed  you. 
If  you  do  so,  you  will  find  that,  in  simply 
walking  through  the  streets,  something  or 
other  will  suggest  a  passage  of  Scripture,  or 
will  help  you,  when  you  have  chosen  your 
text,  to  open  it  up  to  the  people  so  as  really  to 
arrest  their  attention,  and  convey  the  truth 
to  their  minds  and  hearts. 

For  instance,  the  snow  to-day  covered  all  the 
ground,  and  the  black  soil  looked  fair  and 
white.  It  is  thus  with  some  men  under  tran- 
sient reformations ;  they  look  as  holy,  and  as 
heavenly,  and  as  pure  as  though  they  were 
saints ;  but  when  the  sun  of  trial  arises,  and  a 
little  heat  of  temptation  cometh  upon  them, 
how  soon  do  they  reveal  their  true  blackness, 
and  all  their  surface  goodliness  melteth  away ! 

The  whole  world  is  hung  round  by  God  with 
pictures;  and  the  preacher  has  only  to  take 
them  down,  one  by  one,  and  hold  them  up  be- 
fore his  congregation,  and  he  will  be  sure  to 
enlist  their  interest  in  the  subject  he  is  seeking 
to  illustrate.    But  he  must  have  his  own  eyes 


ANECDOTES   AND  ILLUSTKATIONS.  127 

open,  or  he  will  not  see  these  pictures.  Solo- 
mon said,  "  The  wise  man's  eyes  are  in  his 
head,"  and  addressing  such  a  man,  he  wrote, 
"  Let  thine  eyes  look  right  on,  and  let  thine 
eyelids  look  straight  before  thee."  Why  does 
he  speak  of  seeing  with  the  eyelids  I  I  think 
he  means  that  the  eyelids  are  to  shut  in  what 
the  eyes  have  perceived.  You  know  that  there 
is  all  the  difference  in  the  world  between  a 
man  with  eyes  and  one  with  no  eyes.  One 
sits  down  by  a  stream,  and  sees  much  to  in- 
terest and  instruct  him ;  but  another,  at  the 
same  place,  is  like  the  gentleman  of  whom 
Wordsworth  wrote : 

A  primrose  by  a  river's  brim 
A  yellow  primrose  was  to  him, 
And  it  was  nothing  more. 

If  you  find  any  difficulty  in  illustrating  your 
subject,  I  should  strongly  recommend  you  to 
try  to  teach  children  whenever  you  can  get  an 
opportunity  of  doing  sOo  I  do  not  know  a 
better  way  of  schooling  your  own  mind  to  the 
use  of  illustrations  than  frequently  to  take  a 
class  in  the  Sunday-school,  or  to  give  addresses 
to  the  scholars  as  often  as  you  can ;  because, 
if  you  do  not  illustrate  tliere^  you  will  have 
your  lesson  or  your  address  illustrated  for  you 
very  strikingly.     You  will  find  that  the  chil- 


128  THE   ART   OF   ILLUSTRATION. 

dren  will  do  it  by  their  general  worry  and 
inattention,  or  by  their  talk  and  play.  I  used 
to  have  a  class  of  boys  when  I  was  a  Sunday- 
school  teacher,  and  if  I  was  ever  a  little  dull, 
they  began  to  make  wheels  of  themselves, 
twisting  round  on  the  forms  on  which  they 
sat.  That  was  a  very  plain  intimation  to  me 
that  I  must  give  them  an  illustration  or  an 
anecdote;  and  I  learned  to  tell  stories  partly 
by  being  obliged  to  tell  them.  One  boy  whom 
I  had  in  the  class  used  to  say  to  me,  "  This  is 
very  dull,  teacher ;  can't  you  pitch  us  a  yarn  ?  " 
Of  course  he  was  a  naughty  boy,  and  you  may 
suppose  that  he  went  to  the  bad  when  he  grew 
up,  though  I  am  not  at  all  sure  that  he  did ; 
but  I  used  to  try  and  pitch  him  the  yarn  that 
he  wanted  in  order  to  get  his  attention  again. 
And  I  dare  say  that  some  of  our  hearers,  if 
they  were  allowed  to  speak  out  during  the 
sermon,  would  ask  us  to  pitch  them  a  yarn 
— that  is,  to  give  them  something  to  interest 
them.  I  believe  that  one  of  the  best  things 
you  can  do  to  teach  either  the  old  or  the  young 
is  to  give  them  plenty  of  anecdotes  and  illus- 
trations. 

I  think  it  would  be  very  useful  to  some  of 
you  who  are  not  yet  adepts  at  the  art  of  illus- 
tration if  you  were  to  read  hooks  in  which  there 


ANECDOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.     129 

is  an  abundance-  of  metaphor,  simile,  and  em- 
blem. I  am  not  going  fully  into  that  subject 
on  this  occasion,  because  this  lecture  is  only 
preliminary  to  the  next  two  that  I  hope  to  de- 
liver, in  which  I  will  try  to  give  you  a  list  of 
cyclopedias  of  anecdotes  and  illustrations,  and 
books  of  fables,  emblems,  and  parables ;  but  I 
advise  you  to  study  such  works  as  GurnalPs 
"  Christian  in  Complete  Armor,"  or  Matthew 
Henry's  "  Commentary,"  with  the  distinct  view 
of  noticing  all  the  illustrations,  emblems,  met- 
aphors, and  similes  that  you  can  find.  I  should 
even  select  wo^^-comparisons ;  I  like  Reach's 
"  Metaphors,"  where  he  points  out  the  disparity 
between  the  type  and  the  Antitype.  Some- 
times, the  contrasts  between  different  persons 
or  objects  will  be  as  instructive  as  their  re- 
semblances. 

When  you  have  read  the  book  once,  and 
tried  to  mark  all  the  figures,  go  through  it 
again,  and  note  all  the  illustrations  you  missed 
in  your  first  reading.  You  will  probably  have 
missed  many ;  and  you  will  be  surprised  to 
find  that  there  are  illustrations  even  in  the  words 
themselves.  How  frequently  a  word  is  itself  a 
picture !  Some  of  the  most  expressive  words 
that  are  found  in  human  language  are  like  rich 
gems,  which  have  passed  before  your  eye  very 
often,  but  you  have  not  had  time  to  handle  or 


130  THE   AET   OF   ILLUSTRATION. 

to  value  them.  In  your  second  examination 
of  the  book,  you  will  notice,  perhaps,  what 
eluded  you  the  first  time,  and  you  will  find 
many  illustrations  which  are  merely  hinted  at, 
instead  of  being  given  at  length.  Do  as  I  have 
recommended  with  a  great  many  books.  Get 
copies  that  you  can  afford  to  mark  with  a  col- 
ored pencil,  so  that  you  will  be  sure  to  see  the 
illustrations  readily ;  or  put  them  down  in  one 
of  your  note-books. 

I  am  sure  that  those  brethren  who  begin 
early  to  keep  a  record  of  such  things  act  wisely. 
The  commonplace-books  of  the  old  Puritans 
were  invaluable  to  them.  They  would  never 
have  been  able  to  have  compiled  such  marvel- 
ous works  as  they  did  if  they  had  not  been 
careful  in  collecting  and  arranging  their  matter 
under  different  heads ;  and  thus,  all  that  they 
had  ever  read  upon  any  subject  was  embalmed 
and  preserved,  and  they  could  readily  refer  to 
any  point  that  they  might  require,  and  refresh 
their  memories  and  verify  their  quotations. 
Some  of  us,  who  are  very  busy,  may  be  ex- 
cused from  that  task;  we  must  do  the  best 
we  can ;  but  some  of  you,  who  go  to  smaller 
charges,  in  the  country  especially,  ought  to 
keep  a  commonplace-book,  or  else  I  am  afraid 
you  will  get  to  be  very  commonplace  your- 
selves. 


ANECDOTES   AND   ILLUSTRATIONS.  131 

Your  selection  of  similes,  metaphors,  para- 
bles, and  emblems  will  not  be  complete  unless 
you  also  search  the  Scriptures  to  find  the  illus- 
trations that  are  recorded  there.  Biblical  allu- 
sions are  the  most  effective  methods  of  illus- 
trating and  enforcing  the  truths  of  the  gospel ; 
and  the  preacher  who  is  familiar  with  his  Bible 
will  never  be  at  a  loss  for  an  instance  of  that 
which  "  is  profitable  for  doctrine,  for  reproof, 
for  correction,  for  instruction  in  righteous- 
ness." The  Lord  must  have  meant  us  thus  to 
use  his  Word,  otherwise  he  would  not  have 
given  us,  in  the  Old  Testament,  such  a  number 
of  types  and  symbols  of  truths  .to  be  after- 
ward more  fully  revealed  under  the  gospel 
dispensation. 

Such  a  collection  of  illustrations  as  I  have 
suggested  will  come  very  handy  to  you  in  fu- 
ture days,  and  you  will  be  reminded,  by  the 
comparisons  and  figures  used  by  others,  to 
make  comparisons  and  figures  for  yourself. 
Familiarity  with  anything  makes  us  aufait  at 
it;  we  can  learn  to  do  almost  anything  by 
practice.  I  suppose  that  I  could,  by  degrees, 
learn  to  make  a  tub  if  I  spent  my  time  with  a 
man  engaged  in  that  business.  I  should  know 
how  to  put  the  staves  and  the  hoops  if  I  stayed 
long  enough  in  the  cooper's  yard ;  and  I  have 
no  doubt  that  any  of  you  could  learn  anything 


132  THE   AET   OF   ILLUSTRATION. 

you  desired  provided  you  had  sufficient  time 
and  opportunity.  So,  if  you  search  for  illus- 
trations, you  will  learn  to  make  them  for  your- 
selves. 

That  brings  me  to  my  last  point.  I  began 
this  lecture  by  warning  you  against  the  prac- 
tice of  making  anecdotes ;  I  close  it  by  advis- 
ing you  often  to  set  yourself  the  task  of  making 
illustrations.  Try  to  make  comparisons  from 
the  things  round  about  you.  I  think  it  would 
be  well,  sometimes,  to  shut  the  door  of  your 
study,  and  say  to  yourself,  "  I  will  not  go  out 
of  this  room  until  I  have  made  at  least  half  a 
dozen  good  illustrations.''  The  Chinese  say 
that  the  intellect  lies  in  the  stomach,  and  that 
the  affections  are  there  too.  I  think  they  are 
right  on  the  latter  point,  because,  you  know, 
if  you  are  ever  very  fond  of  anybody — your 
wife,  for  instance — you  say  that  you  could  eat 
her ;  and  you  also  say  that  such  and  such  a 
person  is  very  sweet.  So,  too,  the  intellect 
may  lie  in  the  stomach;  and  consequently, 
when  you  have  been  shut  in  for  two  or  three 
hours,  and  begin  to  want  your  dinner  or  tea, 
you  may  be  quickened  into  the  making  of  the 
six  illustrations  I  have  mentioned  as  a  min- 
imum .  Your  study  would  be  a  veritable  prison 
if  you  could  not  make  as  many  useful  compar- 


ANECDOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  Ido 

isons  as  that  from  the  different  objects  in  the 
room.  I  should  say  that  a  prison  itself  would 
furnish  suggestions  for  making  many  met- 
aphors. I  do  not  wish  you  to  go  to  prison  for 
that  purpose ;  but  if  you  ever  do  get  there,  you 
ought  to  be  able  to  learn  how  to  preach  in  an 
interesting  manner  upon  such  a  passage  as  this 
— "  Bring  my  soul  out  of  prison ; "  or  this,  "  He 
was  there  in  the  prison.  But  the  Lord  was 
with  Joseph." 

If  you  cannot  get  your  brains  to  work  in  the 
house,  you  might  take  a  walk,  and  say  to  your- 
self, "  I  will  wander  over  the  fields,  or  I  will 
get  into  the  garden,  or  I  will  stroll  in  the  wood, 
and  see  if  I  cannot  find  some  illustration  or 
other."  You  might  even  go  and  look  in  at  a 
shop-window,  and  see  if  there  are  not  some 
illustrations  to  be  discovered  there.  Or  you 
might  stand  still  a  little  while,  and  hear  what 
people  say  as  they  go  by ;  or  stop  where  there 
is  a  little  knot  of  idlers,  and  try  to  hear  what 
they  are  talking  about,  and  see  what  symbol 
you  can  make  out  of  it.  You  should  also  spend 
as  much  time  as  you  can  visiting  the  sick ;  that 
will  be  a  most  profitable  thing  to  do,  for  in  that 
sacred  service  you  will  have  many  opportuni- 
ties of  getting  illustrations  from  the  tried  chil- 
dren of  God  as  you  hear  their  varied  experi- 
ences.    It  is  wonderful  what  pages  of  a  new 


134  THE  ART   OF   ILLUSTRA.TION. 

cyclopedia  of  illustrative  teaching  you  might 
find  written  out  with  indelible  ink  if  you  went 
visiting  the  sick,  or  even  in  talking  with  chil- 
dren. Many  of  them  will  say  things  that  you 
will  be  able  to  quote  with  good  effect  in  your 
sermons.  At  any  rate,  do  make  up  your  mind 
that  you  will  attract  and  interest  the  people 
by  the  way  in  which  you  set  the  gospel  before 
them.  Half  the  battle  lies  in  making  the  at- 
tempt, in  coming  to  this  determined  resolution, 
"  God  helping  me,  I  will  teach  the  people  by 
parables,  by  similes,  by  illustrations,  by  any- 
thing that  will  be  helpful  to  them ;  and  I  will 
seek  to  be  a  thoroughly  interesting  preacher 
of  the  Word." 

I  earnestly  hope  you  will  practise  the  art  of 
making  illustrations.  I  will  try  to  prepare  a 
little  set  of  exercises  for  you  to  do  week  by 
week.  I  shall  give  you  some  subject  and  some 
object,  between  which  there  is  a  likeness ;  and 
I  shall  get  you  to  try  to  see  the  resemblance, 
and  to  find  out  what  comparisons  can  be  in- 
stituted between  them.  I  shall  also,  if  I  can, 
give  you  some  subject  without  an  object,  and 
then  say  to  you,  "  Illustrate  that ;  tell  us,  for 
instance,  what  virtue  is  like."  Or,  sometimes, 
I  may  give  you  the  object  without  the  subject, 
thus — "A  diamond;  how  will  you  use  that 
as  an  illustration  ? "    Then,  sometimes,  I  may 


ANECDOTES  AND  ILLUSTKATIONS.     135 

give  you  neither  the  subject  nor  the  object, 
but  just  say,  "Bring  me  an  illustration."  I 
think  we  might,  in  this  way,  make  a  set  of  ex- 
ercises which  would  be  very  useful  to  you  all. 
The  way  to  get  a  mind  worth  having  is  to 
get  one  well  stored  with  things  worth  keeping. 
Of  course,  the  man  who  has  the  most  illustra- 
tions in  his  head  will  be  the  one  who  will  use 
the  most  illustrations  in  his  discourses.  There 
are  some  preachers  who  have  the  bump  of  il- 
lustration fully  developed ;  they  are  sure  to 
illustrate  their  subject,  they  cannot  help  it. 
There  are  some  men  who  always  see  "  likes  " ; 
they  catch  a  comparison  long  before  others  see 
it.  If  any  of  you  say  that  you  are  not  good 
at  illustrating,  I  reply,  "  My  brother,  you  must 
try  to  grow  horns  if  you  have  not  any  on  your 
head."  You  may  never  be  able  to  develop  any 
vast  amount  of  imagination  or  fancy  if  you  do 
not  possess  it  at  the  first — just  as  it  is  hard  to 
make  a  cheese  out  of  a  millstone — but  by  dili- 
gent attention  to  this  matter  you  may  improve 
upon  what  you  now  are.  I  do  believe  that 
some  fellows  have  a  depression  in  their  cra- 
niums  where  there  ought  to  be  a  bump.  I  knew 
a  young  man,  who  tried  hard  to  get  into  this 
college ;  but  he  never  saw  how  to  join  things 
together  unless  he  tied  them  by  their  tails. 
He  brought  out  a  book ;  and  when  I  read  it,  I 


136  THE  ART   OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

found  at  once  that  it  was  full  of  my  stories  and 
illustrations ;  that  is  to  say,  every  illustration 
or  story  in  the  book  was  one  that  I  had  used, 
but  there  was  not  one  of  them  that  was  related 
as  it  ought  to  have  been.  This  man  had  so 
told  the  story  that  it  was  not  there  at  all ;  the 
very  point  which  I  had  brought  out  he  had 
carefully  omitted,  and  every  bit  of  it  was  told 
correctly  except  the  one  thing  that  was  the  es- 
sence of  the  whole.  Of  course,  I  was  glad  that 
I  did  not  have  that  brother  in  the  college ;  he 
might  have  been  an  ornament  to  us  by  his 
deficiencies,  but  we  can  do  without  such  orna- 
ments, indeed,  we  have  had  enough  of  them 
already. 

Finally,  dear  brethren,  do  try  with  all  your 
might  to  get  the  power  to  see  a  parable,  a 
simile,  an  illustration,  wherever  it  is  to  be 
seen ;  for  to  a  great  extent  this  is  one  of  the 
most  important  qualifications  of  the  man  who 
is  to  be  a  public  speaker,  and  especially  of  the 
man  who  is  to  be  an  efficient  preacher  of  the 
gospel  of  Christ.  If  the  Lord  Jesus  made  such 
frequent  use  of  parables,  it  must  be  right  for 
us  to  do  the  same. 


LECTURE  V. 

THE  SCIENCES  AS   SOURCES   OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

Astronomy. 

I  PROPOSE,  brethren,  if  I  am  able  to  do  it — 
and  I  am  somewhat  dubious  upon  that  point 
— to  give  you  a  set  of  lectures  at  intervals  upon 
The  Various  Sciences  as  Sources  of  Illus- 
tration. It  seems  to  me  that  every  student 
for  the  Christian  ministrj^  ought  to  know  at 
least  something  of  every  science;  he  should 
intermeddle  with  every  form  of  knowledge 
that  may  be  useful  in  his  life's  work.  God 
has  made  all  things  that  are  in  the  world  to 
be  our  teachers,  and  there  is  something  to  be 
learned  from  every  one  of  them;  and  as  he 
would  never  be  a  thorough  student  who  did 
not  attend  all  classes  at  which  he  was  expected 
to  be  present,  so  he  who  does  not  learn  from 
all  things  that  God  has  made  will  never  gather 
all  the  food  that  his  soul  needs,  nor  will  he  be 
likely  to  attain  to  that  perfection  of  mental 

137 


138  THE   ART   OF   ILLUSTRATION. 

manhood  which  will  enable  him  to  be  a  fully- 
equipped  teacher  of  others. 

I  shall  commence  with  the  science  of  As- 
tronomy ;  and  you  will,  at  the  beginning,  un- 
derstand that  I  am  not  going  to  deliver  an  as- 
tronomical lecture,  nor  to  mention  all  the  grand 
facts  and  details  of  that  fascinating  science ; 
but  I  intend  simply  to  use  astronomy  as  one  of 
the  many  fields  of  illustration  that  the  Lord  has 
provided  for  us.  Let  me  say,  however,  that 
the  science  itself  is  one  which  ought  to  receive 
much  attention  from  all  of  us.  It  relates  to 
many  of  the  greatest  wonders  in  nature,  and 
its  effect  upon  the  mind  is  truly  marvelous. 
The  themes  on  which  astronomy  discourses 
are  so  grand,  the  wonders  disclosed  by  the  tele- 
scope are  so  sublime,  that,  very  often,  minds 
that  have  been  unable  to  receive  knowledge 
through  other  channels  have  become  remark- 
ably receptive  while  thej^  have  been  studying 
this  science.  There  is  an  instance  of  a  brother 
who  was  one  of  the  students  in  this  college,  and 
who  seemed  to  be  a  dreadful  dolt ;  we  really 
thought  he  never  would  learn  anything,  and 
that  we  should  have  to  give  him  up  in  despair. 
But  I  introduced  to  him  a  little  book  called 
"  The  Young  Astronomer  " ;  and  he  afterward 
said  that,  as  he  read  it,  he  felt  just  as  if  some- 


SCIENCES  AS   SOURCES  OF  ILLUSTRATION.  139 

thing  had  cracked  inside  his  head,  or  as  if  some 
string  had  been  snapped.  He  had  laid  hold 
of  such  enlarged  thoughts  that  I  believe  his 
cranium  did  actually  experience  an  expansion 
which  it  ought  to  have  undergone  in  his  child- 
hood, and  which  it  did  undergo  by  the  marvel- 
ous force  of  the  thoughts  suggested  by  the 
study  of  even  the  elements  of  astronomical 
science. 

This  science  ought  to  be  the  special  delight 
of  ministers  of  the  gospel,  for  surely  it  brings 
us  into  closer  connection  with  God  than  al- 
most any  other  science  does.  It  has  been  said 
that  an  undevout  astronomer  is  mad.  I  should 
say  that  an  undevout  man  of  any  sort  is  mad 
— with  the  worst  form  of  madness ;  but,  cer- 
tainly, he  who  has  become  acquainted  with  the 
stars  in  the  heavens,  and  who  yet  has  not  found 
out  the  great  Father  of  lights,  the  Lord  who 
made  them  all,  must  be  stricken  with  a  dire 
madness.  Notwithstanding  all  his  learning, 
he  must  be  afflicted  with  a  mental  incapacity 
which  places  him  almost  below  the  level  of  the 
beasts  that  perish. 

Kepler,  the  great  mathematical  astronomer, 
who  has  so  well  explained  many  of  the  laws 
which  govern  the  universe,  closes  one  of  his 
books — his  '^Harmonics" — with  this  reverent 
and  devout  expression  of  his  feelings :  "  I  give 


140  THE   ART   OF   ILLUSTRATION. 

thee  thanks,  Lord  and  Creator,  that  thou  hast 
given  me  joy  through  thy  creation ;  for  I  have 
been  ravished  with  the  work  of  thy  hands.  I 
have  revealed  unto  mankind  the  glory  of  thy 
works,  as  far  as  my  limited  spirit  could  conceive 
their  infinitude.  Should  I  have  brought  for- 
ward anything  that  is  unworthy  of  thee,  or 
should  I  have  sought  my  own  fame,  be  gra- 
ciously pleased  to  forgive  me."  And  you  know 
how  the  mighty  Newton,  a  very  prince  among 
the  sons  of  men,  was  continually  driven  to  his 
knees  as  he  looked  upward  to  the  skies,  and 
discovered  fresh  wonders  in  the  starry  heavens. 
Therefore,  the  science  which  tends  to  bring 
men  to  bow  in  humility  before  the  Lord  should 
always  be  a  favorite  study  with  us  whose  busi- 
ness it  is  to  inculcate  reverence  for  God  in  all 
who  come  under  our  influence. 

The  science  of  astronomy  would  never  have 
become  available  to  us  in  many  of  its  remark- 
able details  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  discovery 
or  invention  of  the  telescope.  Truth  is  great, 
but  it  does  not  savingly  affect  us  till  we  become 
personally  acquainted  with  it.  The  knowledge 
of  the  gospel,  as  it  is  revealed  to  us  in  the  Word 
of  God,  makes  it  true  to  us ;  and  oftentimes 
the  Bible  is  to  us  what  the  telescope  is  to  the 
astronomer.    The  Scriptures  do  not  make  the 


SCIENCES   AS   SOUKCES   OF   ILLUSTRATION.  141 

truth;  but  they  reveal  it  in  a  way  in  which 
our  poor,  feeble  intellect,  when  enlightened  by 
the  Holy  Spirit,  is  able  to  behold  and  compre- 
hend it. 

From  a  book*  to  which  I  am  indebted  for 
many  quotations  in  this  lecture,  I  learn  that 
the  telescope  was  discovered  in  this  singular 
manner:  "A  maker  of  spectacles  at  Middle- 
burg  stumbled  upon  the  discovery  owing  to 
his  children  directing  his  attention  to  the 
enlarged  appearance  of  the  weathercock  of  a 
church,  as  accidentally  seen  through  two  spec- 
tacle-glasses, held  between  the  fingers  some 
distance  apart.  This  was  one  of  childhood's 
inadvertent  acts ;  and  seldom  has  there  been  a 
parallel  example  of  mighty  results  springing 
out  of  such  a  trivial  circum  stance.  It  is  strange 
to  reflect  upon  the  playful  pranks  of  boyhood 
being  connected  in  their  issue,  and  at  no  dis- 
tant date,  with  enlarging  the  known  bounds  of 
the  planetary  system,  resolving  the  nebula  of 
Orion,  and  revealing  the  richness  of  the  firma- 
ment." In  a  similar  way,  a  simple  incident 
has  often  been  the  means  of  revealing  to  men 
the  wonders  of  divine  grace.  What  a  certain 
individual  only  meant  to  be  trifling  with  divine 
things,  God  has  overruled  for  his  soul's  salva- 

*  "  The  Heavens  and  the  Earth,"  by  Thomas  Milner, 
M.A.,  F.R.G.S. 


142  THE  ART   OF   ILLUSTRATION. 

tion.  He  stepped  in  to  hear  a  sermon  as  he 
might  have  gone  to  the  theater  to  see  a  play ; 
but  God's  Spirit  carried  the  truth  to  his  heart, 
and  revealed  to  him  the  deep  things  of  the 
kingdom,  and  his  own  personal  interest  in 
them. 

I  think  that  incident  of  the  discovery  of  the 
telescope  might  be  usefully  employed  as  an  il- 
lustration of  the  connection  between  little 
causes  and  great  results,  showing  how  the 
providence  of  God  is  continually  making  small 
things  to  be  the  means  of  bringing  about  won- 
derful and  important  revolutions.  It  may 
often  happen  that  what  seems  to  us  to  be  a 
matter  of  pure  accident,  with  nothing  at  all 
notable  about  it,  may  really  have  the  effect  of 
changing  the  entire  current  of  our  life,  and  it 
may  be  influential  also  in  turning  the  lives  of 
many  others  in  quite  a  new  direction. 

When  once  the  telescope  had  been  dis- 
covered, then  the  numbers  and  position  and 
movements  of  the  stars  became  increasingly 
visible,  until  at  the  present  time  we  are  able 
to  study  the  wonders  of  the  stellar  sky,  and 
continually  to  learn  more  and  more  of  the 
marvels  that  are  there  displayed  by  the  hand 
of  God.  The  telescope  has  revealed  to  us  much 
more  of  the  sun,  and  the  moon,  and  the  stars 
than  we  could  ever  have  discovered  without 


SCIENCES   AS    SOURCES   OF  ILLUSTRATION.  143 

its  aid.  Dr.  Livingstone,  on  account  of  his 
frequently  using  the  sextant  when  he  was 
traveling  in  Africa,  was  spoken  of  by  the 
natives  as  the  white  man  who  could  bring 
down  the  sun,  and  carry  it  under  his  arm. 
That  is  what  the  telescope  has  done  for  us, 
and  that  is  what  faith  in  the  gospel  has  done 
for  us  in  the  spiritual  heavens ;  it  has  brought 
down  to  us  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  given  us  the  high  eternal  things  to 
be  our  present  possession  and  our  perpetual 
Joy. 

Thus,  you  see,  the  telescope  itself  may  be 
made  to  furnish  us  with  many  valuable  illus- 
trations. We  may  also  turn  to  good  account 
the  lessons  to  be  learned  by  the  study  of  the 
stars  for  the  purpose  of  navigation.  The  mar- 
iner, crossing  the  trackless  sea,  by  taking  as- 
tronomical observations,  can  steer  himself  with 
accuracy  to  his  desired  haven.  Captain  Basil 
Hall  tells  us,  in  the  book  I  have  previously 
mentioned,  that "  he  once  sailed  from  San  Bias, 
on  the  West  Coast  of  Mexico ;  and,  after  a  voy- 
age of  eight  thousand  miles,  occupying  eighty- 
nine  days,  he  arrived  off  Rio  de  Janeiro,  hav- 
ing in  this  interval  passed  through  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  rounded  Cape  Horn,  and  crossed  the 
South  Atlantic,  without  making  land,  or  see- 
ing a  single  sail  except  an  American  whaler. 


144  THE   ART   OF   ILLUSTRATION. 

When  within  a  week's  sail  of  Rio,  he  set  ser- 
iously about  determining,  by  lunar  observa- 
tions, the  position  of  his  ship,  and  then  steered 
his  course  by  those  common  principles  of  nav- 
igation which  may  be  safely  employed  for  short 
distances  between  one  known  station  and  an- 
other. Having  arrived  within  what  he  consid- 
ered, from  his  computations,  fifteen  or  twenty 
miles  of  the  coast,  he  hove  to,  at  four  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  to  await  the  break  of  day,  and 
then  bore  up,  proceeding  cautiously  on  account 
of  a  thick  fog.  As  this  cleared  away,  the  crew 
had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  great  Sugar- 
Loaf  Rock,  which  stands  on  one  side  of  the 
harbor's  mouth,  so  nearly  right  ahead  that 
they  had  not  to  alter  their  course  above  a  point 
in  order  to  hit  the  entrance  of  the  port.  This 
was  the  first  land  they  had  seen  for  nearly 
three  months,  after  crossing  so  many  seas,  and 
being  set  backward  and  forward  by  innumer- 
able currents  and  foul  winds.  The  effect  upon 
all  on  board  was  electric ;  and,  giving  way  to 
their  admiration,  the  sailors  greeted  the  com- 
mander with  a  hearty  cheer." 

In  a  similar  manner,  we  also  sail  by  guidance 
from  the  heavenly  bodies,  and  we  have  for  a 
long  season  no  sight  of  land,  and  sometimes 
do  not  even  see  a  passing  sail ;  and  yet,  if  we 
take  our  observations  correctly,  and  follow  the 


SCIENCES   AS   SOURCES   OF  ILLUSTRATION.  145 

track  which  they  point  out,  we  shall  have  the 
great  blessing,  when  we  are  about  to  finish  our 
voyage,  of  seeing,  not  the  great  Sugar-Loaf 
Rock,  but  the  Fair  Haven  of  Glory  right 
straight  before  us.  We  shall  not  have  to  alter 
our  course  even  a  single  point ;  and,  as  we  sail 
into  the  heavenly  harbor,  what  songs  of  joy 
will  we  raise,  not  in  glorification  of  our  own 
skill,  but  in  praise  of  the  wondrous  Captain 
and  Pilot  who  has  guided  us  over  life's  stormy 
sea,  and  enabled  us  to  sail  in  safety  even  where 
we  could  not  see  our  way ! 

Kepler  makes  a  wise  remark,  when  speaking 
about  the  mathematical  system  by  which  the 
course  of  a  star  could  be  predicted.  After 
describing  the  result  of  his  observations,  and 
declaring  his  firm  belief  that  the  will  of  the 
Lord  is  the  supreme  power  in  the  laws  of  na- 
ture, he  says :  "  But  if  there  be  any  man  who 
is  too  dull  to  receive  this  science,  I  advise  that, 
leaving  the  school  of  astronomy,  he  follow  his 
own  path,  and  desist  from  this  wandering 
through  the  universe ;  and,  lifting  up  his  natu- 
ral eyes,  with  which  he  alone  can  see,  pour  him- 
self out  in  his  own  heart,  in  praise  of  God  the 
Creator;  being  certain  that  he  gives  no  less 
worship  to  God  than  the  astronomer,  to  whom 
God  has  given  to  see  more  clearly  with  his 
inward  eye,  and  who,  for  what  he  has  him- 


146  THE  ART   OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

self  discovered,  both  can  and  will  glorify 
God." 

That  is,  I  think,  a  very  beautiful  illustration 
of  what  you  may  say  to  any  poor  illiterate 
man  in  your  congregation :  "  Well,  my  friend, 
if  you  cannot  comprehend  this  system  of  the- 
ology which  I  have  explained  to  you,  if  these 
doctrines  seem  to  you  to  be  utterly  incompre- 
hensible, if  you  cannot  follow  me  in  my  criti- 
cism upon  the  Greek  text,  if  you  cannot  quite 
catch  the  poetical  idea  that  I  tried  to  give  you 
just  now,  which  is  so  charming  to  my  own 
mind,  nevertheless,  if  you  know  no  more  than 
that  your  Bible  is  true,  that  you  yourseK  are  a 
sinner,  and  that  Jesus  Christ  is  your  Saviour, 
go  on  your  way,  and  worship  and  adore,  and 
think  of  God  as  you  are  able  to  do.  Never 
mind  about  the  astronomers,  and  the  tele- 
scopes, and  the  stars,  and  the  sun,  and  the 
moon ;  worship  the  Lord  in  your  own  fashion. 
Altogether  apart  from  my  theological  know- 
ledge, and  my  explanation  of  the  doctrines  re- 
vealed in  the  Scriptures,  the  Bible  itself,  and 
the  precious  truth  you  have  received  into  your 
own  soul,  through  the  teaching  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  will  be  quite  enough  to  make  you  an 
acceptable  worshiper  of  the  Most  High  God." 

I  suppose  you  are  all  aware  that  among  the 
old  systems  of  astronomy  was  one  which  placed 


SCIENCES   AS    SOURCES   OF   ILLUSTRATION.    147 

the  earth  in  the  center,  and  made  the  sun,  and 
the  moon,  and  the  stars  revolve  around  it. 
"Its  three  fundamental  principles  were  the 
immobility  of  the  earth,  its  central  position, 
and  the  daily  revolution  of  all  the  heavenly 
bodies  around  it  in  circular  orbits." 

Now,  in  a  similar  fashion,  there  is  a  way  of 
making  a  system  of  theology  of  which  man  is 
the  center,  by  which  it  is  implied  that  Christ 
and  his  atoning  sacrifice  are  only  made  for 
man's  sake,  and  that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  merely 
a  great  Worker  on  man's  behalf,  and  that  even 
the  great  and  glorious  Father  is  to  be  viewed 
simply  as  existing  for  the  sake  of  making  man 
happy.  Well,  that  may  be  the  system  of  the- 
ology adopted  by  some;  but,  brethren,  we 
must  not  fall  into  that  error,  for,  just  as  the 
earth  is  not  the  center  of  the  universe,  so  man 
is  not  the  grandest  of  all  beings.  God  has  been 
pleased  highly  to  exalt  man ;  but  we  must  re- 
member how  the  psalmist  speaks  of  him: 
"When  I  consider  thy  heavens,  the  work  of 
thy  fingers,  the  moon  and  the  stars,  which 
thou  has  ordained ;  what  is  man,  that  thou  art 
mindful  of  him ;  and  the  son  of  man,  that  thou 
visitest  him  !  "  In  another  place,  David  says, 
"  Lord,  what  is  man,  that  thou  takest  know- 
ledge of  him !  or  the  son  of  man,  that  thou 
makest  account  of  him !     Man  is  like  to  van- 


148  THE  ART   OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

ity:  his  days  are  as  a  shadow  that  passeth 
away."  Man  cannot  be  the  center  of  the  theo- 
logical universe ;  he  is  altogether  too  insignifi- 
cant a  being  to  occupy  such  a  position,  and  the 
scheme  of  redemption  must  exist  for  some 
other  end  than  that  of  merely  making  man 
happy,  or  even  of  making  him  holy.  The  sal- 
vation of  man  must  surely  be  first  of  all  for 
the  glory  of  God ;  and  you  have  discovered  the 
right  form  of  Christian  doctrine  when  you 
have  found  the  system  that  has  God  in  the 
center,  ruling  and  controlling  according  to  the 
good  pleasure  of  his  will.  Do  not  dwarf  man 
so  as  to  make  it  appear  that  God  has  no  care 
for  him ;  for  if  you  do  that,  you  slander  God. 
Give  to  man  the  position  that  God  has  assigned 
to  him ;  by  doing  so,  you  will  have  a  system 
of  theology  in  which  all  the  truths  of  revela- 
tion and  experience  will  move  in  glorious  order 
and  harmony  around  the  great  central  orb,  the 
Divine  Sovereign  Ruler  of  the  universe,  God 
over  all,  blessed  forever. 

You  may,  however,  any  one  of  you,  make 
another  mistake  by  imagining  yourself  to  be 
the  center  of  a  system.  That  foolish  notion  is 
a  good  illustration,  I  think.  There  are  some 
men  whose  fundamental  principles  are,  first 
of  all,  their  own  immobility :  what  they  are, 
they  always  are  to  be,  and  they  are  right,  and 


SCIENCES   AS   SOURCES   OF  ILLUSTRATION.  149 

no  one  can  stir  them ;  secondly,  their  position 
is  central,  for  them  suns  rise  and  set,  and 
moons  do  wax  and  wane.  For  them  their 
wives  exist ;  for  them  their  children  are  born ; 
for  them  everything  is  placed  where  it  ap- 
pears in  God's  universe;  and  they  judge  all 
things  according  to  this  one  rule,  "  How  will 
it  benefit  me  f  "  That  is  the  beginning  and  the 
end  of  their  grand  system,  and  they  expect 
the  daily  revolution,  if  not  of  all  the  heav- 
enly bodies,  certainly  of  all  the  earthly  bodies 
around  them.  The  sun,  the  moon,  and  the 
eleven  stars  are  to  make  obeisance  to  them. 
Well,  brethren,  that  is  an  exploded  theory  so 
far  as  the  earth  is  concerned,  and  there  is  no 
truth  in  such  a  notion  with  reference  to  our- 
selves. We  may  cherish  the  erroneous  idea ; 
but  the  general  public  will  not,  and  the  sooner 
the  grace  of  God  expels  it  from  us,  the  better, 
so  that  we  may  take  our  proper  position  in  a 
far  higher  system  than  any  of  which  we  can 
ever  be  the  center. 

The  Sun,  then,  not  the  earth,  is  the  center 
of  the  solar  system ;  which  system,  mark  you, 
is  probably  only  one  little  insignificant  corner 
of  the  universe,  although  it  includes  such  a 
vast  space  that  if  I  could  give  you  the  actual 
figures  you  would  not  be  able  to  form  the 


150  THE  ART   OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

slightest  idea  of  what  they  really  represented. 
Yet  that  tremendous  system,  compared  with 
the  whole  of  God's  universe,  may  be  only  like 
a  single  grain  of  dust  on  the  sea-shore,  and 
there  may  be  myriads  upon  myriads  of  sys- 
tems, some  of  which  are  made  up  of  innumer- 
able systems  as  large  as  ours,  and  the  great 
sun  himself  may  only  be  a  planet  revolving 
round  a  greater  sun,  and  this  world  only  a 
little  satellite  to  the  sun,  never  yet  observed 
by  the  astronomers  who,  it  may  be,  live  in 
that  remoter  sun  still  farther  off.  It  is  a  mar- 
velous universe  that  God  has  made ;  and  how- 
ever much  of  it  we  may  have  seen,  we  must 
never  imagine  that  we  have  discovered  more 
than  a  very  small  portion  of  the  worlds  upon 
worlds  that  God  has  created. 

The  earth,  and  all  the  planets,  and  all  the 
solid  matter  of  the  universe,  are  controlled,  as 
you  know,  b}^  the  force  of  attraction.  We  are 
kept  in  our  place  in  the  world,  in  going  round 
the  sun,  by  two  forces,  the  one  called  centrip- 
etal, which  draws  us  toward  the  sun,  and  the 
other  called  centrifugal,  which  is  generally  il- 
lustrated by  the  tendency  of  drops  of  water  on 
a  trundled  mop  to  fly  off  at  a  tangent  from  the 
circle  they  are  describing. 

Now,  I  believe  that,  in  like  manner,  there 
are  two  forces  which  are  ever  at  work  upon 


SCIENCES  AS   SOtRCES  OF  ILLUSTRATION.  l5l 

all  of  US,  the  one  which  draws  us  toward  God,  ^^^^j^^Sil^ 
and  the  other  which  drives  us  away  from  him,  j^  o  \ 
and  we  are  thus  kept  in  the  circle  of  life ;  but, 
for  my  part,  I  shall  be  very  glad  when  I  can 
pass  out  of  that  circle,  and  get  away  from  the 
influence  of  the  centrifugal  force.  I  believe 
that,  the  moment  I  do  so — as  soon  as  ever  the 
attraction  which  draws  me  away  from  God  is" 
gone — I  shall  be  with  him  in  heaven ;  that  I 
do  not  doubt.  Directly  one  or  other  of  the 
two  forces  which  influence  human  life  shall 
be  exhausted,  we  shall  have  either  to  drift 
away  into  the  far-off  space,  through  the  cen- 
trifugal force — which  God  forbid ! — or  else  we 
shall  fly  at  once  into  the  central  orb,  by  the 
centripetal  force,  and  the  sooner  that  glorious 
end  of  life  comes,  the  better  will  it  be  for  us. 
With  Augustine,  I  would  say,  "  All  things  are 
drawn  to  their  own  center.  Be  thou  the  Center 
of  my  heart,  O  God,  my  Light,  my  only  Love !  " 
The  sun  himself  is  an  enormous  body ;  he 
has  been  measured,  but  I  think  I  will  not  bur- 
den you  with  the  figures,  since  they  will  con- 
vey to  you  no  adequate  idea  of  his  actual  size. 
Suffice  it  to  say  that,  if  the  earth  and  the  moon 
were  put  inside  the  sun,  there  would  be  abun- 
dance of  room  for  them  to  go  on  revolving  in 
their  orbits  just  as  they  are  now  doing ;  and 
there   would  be   no   fear  of  their  knocking 


152  THE  ART  OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

against  that  external  crust  of  the  sun  which 
would  represent  to  them  the  heavens. 

It  takes  about  eight  minutes  for  light  to 
reach  us  from  the  sun.  We  may  judge  of  the 
pace  at  which  that  light  comes  when  we  reflect 
that  a  cannon-ball,  rushing  with  the  swiftest 
possible  velocity,  would  take  seven  years  to 
get  there,  and  that  a  train,  traveling  at  the  rate 
of  thirty  miles  an  hour,  and  never  stopping 
for  refreshments,  would  require  more  than 
three  hundred  and  fifty  years  before  it  would 
reach  the  terminus.  You  may  thus  form  some 
slight  idea  of  the  distance  that  we  are  from  the 
sun;  and  this,  I  think,  furnishes  us  with  a 
good  illustration  of  faith.  There  is  no  man 
who  can  know,  except  by  faith,  that  the  sun 
exists.  That  he  did  exist  eight  minutes  ago, 
I  know,  for  here  is  a  ray  of  light  that  has  just 
come  from  him,  and  told  me  that ;  but  I  can- 
not be  sure  that  he  is  existing  at  this  moment. 
There  are  some  of  the  fixed  stars,  that  are  at 
such  a  vast  distance  from  the  earth,  that  a  ray 
of  light  from  them  takes  hundreds  of  years  to 
reach  us ;  and,  for  aught  we  know,  they  may 
have  been  extinct  long  ago.  Yet  we  still  put 
them  down  in  our  chart  of  the  heavens,  and 
we  can  only  keep  them  there  by  faith,  for  as, 
"  through  faith  we  understand  that  the  worlds 
were  framed  by  the  Word  of  God,"  so  it  is  only 


SCIENCES   AS   SOURCES   OF  ILLUSTRATION.  153 

by  faith  that  we  can  know  that  any  of  them 
now  exist.  When  we  come  to  examine  the 
matter  closely,  we  find  that  our  eyesight,  and 
all  our  faculties  and  senses,  are  not  sufficient 
to  give  us  positive  conviction  with  regard  to 
tliese  heavenly  bodies ;  and  therefore  we  still 
have  to  exercise  faith ;  so  is  it  to  a  high  degree 
in  spiritual  affairs,  we  walk  by  faith,  not  by 
sight. 

That  the  sun  has  spots  upon  his  face,  is  a 
fact  which  everybody  notices.  Just  so;  and 
if  you  are  suns,  and  are  never  so  bright,  yet 
if  you  have  any  spots  upon  you,  you  will  find 
that  people  will  be  very  quick  to  notice  them, 
and  to  call  attention  to  them.  There  is  often 
much  more  talk  about  the  sun's  spots  than 
there  is  about  his  luminous  surface ;  and,  after 
the  same  fashion,  more  will  be  said  about  any 
spots  and  imperfections  that  men  may  discover 
in  our  character  than  about  any  excellences 
that  they  may  see  in  us.  It  was  for  some  time 
asserted  that  there  were  no  spots  or  specks 
whatever  on  the  sun.  Many  astronomers,  with 
the  aid  of  the  telescope,  as  well  as  without  it, 
discovered  tliese  blemishes  and  patches  on  the 
face  of  the  sun ;  but  they  were  assured  by  men 
who  ought  to  have  known — namely,  by  the 
reverend  fathers  of  the  church,  that  it  was 
impossible  that  there  could  be  anything  of 


154  THE  ART  OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

the  kind.  The  book  I  have  previously  quoted 
says:  "Upon  Seheiner,  a  German  Jesuit,  re- 
porting the  evidence  of  his  senses  to  his  pro- 
vincial superior,  the  latter  positively  refused 
to  believe  him.  '  I  have  read,'  said  he,  ^  Aris- 
totle's writings  from  end  to  end  many  times, 
and  I  can  assure  you  that  I  have  nowhere  found 
in  them  anything  similar  to  what  you  mention. 
Go,  my  son,  and  tranquilize  yourself:  be  as- 
sured that  what  you  take  for  spots  in  the  sun 
are  the  faults  of  your  glasses,  or  of  your  eyes.' " 
So,  brethren,  we  know  the  force  of  bigotry, 
and  how  men  will  not  see  what  is  perfectly 
plain  to  us,  and  how,  even  when  facts  are 
brought  before  them,  they  cannot  be  made  to 
believe  in  them,  but  will  attribute  them  to 
anything  but  that  which  is  the  real  truth.  I 
am  afraid  that  the  Word  of  God  itself  has  often 
been  treated  just  in  that  way.  Truths  that 
are  positively  and  plainly  revealed  there  are 
stoutly  denied,  because  they  do  not  happen  to 
fit  in  with  the  preconceived  theories  of  unbe- 
lievers. 

There  have  been  a  great  many  attempts  to 
explain  what  the  spots  upon  the  sun  really  are. 
One  theory  is,  that  the  solar  orb  is  surrounded 
by  a  luminous  atmosphere,  and  that  the  spots 
are  open  spaces  in  that  atmosphere  through 
which  we  see  the  solid  surface  of  the  sun.     I 


SCIENCES   AS   SOURCES   OF  ILLUSTRATION.   155 

cannot  see  any  reason  wliy  that  theory  should 
not  be  the  truth ;  and,  if  it  be  so,  it  seems  to 
me  to  explain  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis, 
where  we  are  told  that  God  created  the  light 
on  the  first  day,  though  he  did  not  make  the 
sun  until  the  fourth  day.  Did  he  not  make 
the  light  first,  and  then  take  the  sun,  which 
otherwise  might  have  been  a  dark  world,  and 
put  the  light  on  it  as  a  luminous  atmosphere  1 
The  two  things  certainly  might  very  well  fit  in 
with  each  other ;  and  if  these  spots  are  really 
openings  in  the  luminous  atmosphere  through 
which  we  see  the  dark  surface  of  the  sun,  they 
are  admirable  illustrations  of  the  spots  that 
men  see  in  us.  We  are  clothed  with  holiness 
as  with  a  garment  of  light ;  but  every  now  and 
then  there  is  a  rift  through  which  observers 
can  see  down  into  the  dark  body  of  natural 
depravity  that  still  is  in  the  very  best  of  us. 

It  is  a  dangerous  thing  to  look  at  the  sun 
with  unprotected  eyes.  Some  have  ventured 
to  look  at  it  with  glasses  that  have  no  coloring 
in  them,  and  they  have  been  struck  blind. 
There  have  been  several  instances  of  persons 
who  have  inadvertently  neglected  to  use  a 
proper  kind  of  glass  before  turning  the  tele- 
scope to  the  sun,  and  so  have  been  blinded. 
This  is  an  illustration  of  our  need  of  a  Media- 
tor, and  of  how  necessary  it  is  to  see  God 


156  THE  ART   OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

tlirongli  the  medium  of  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord ; 
else  might  the  excessive  glory  of  the  Deity 
utterly  destroy  the  faculty  of  seeing  God  at 
all. 

The  effect  of  the  sun  upon  the  eai'th,  I  shall 
not  dwell  upon  now,  as  that  may  rather  con- 
cern another  branch  of  science  than  astronomy. 
It  will  suffice  to  say  that  living  plants  will 
sometimes  grow  without  the  sun,  as  you  may 
have  seen  them  in  a  dark  cellar;  but  how 
blanched  they  are  when  existing  under  such 
circumstances !  What  must  have  been  the 
pleasure  with  which  Humboldt  entered  into 
the  great  subterranean  cave  called  the  Cueva 
del  Guacharo,  in  the  district  of  Caraccas !  It 
is  a  cavern  inhabited  by  nocturnal,  fruit-eat- 
ing birds,  and  this  was  what  the  great  natu- 
ralist saw :  "  Seeds,  carried  in  by  the  birds  to 
their  young,  and  dropped,  had  sprung  up,  pro- 
ducing tall,  blanched,  spectral  stalks,  covered 
Avith  half -formed  leaves ;  but  it  was  impossible 
to  recognize  the  species  from  the  change  in 
form,  color,  and  aspect,  which  the  absence 
of  light  had  occasioned.  The  native  Indians 
gazed  upon  tliese  traces  of  imperfect  organiza- 
tion with  mingled  curiosity  and  fear,  as  if  they 
were  pale  and  disfigured  phantoms  banished 
from  the  face  of  the  earth." 

So,  brethren,  think  what  you  and  I  would 


SCIENCES   AS   SOURCES   OF   ILLUSTRATION.  157 

be  without  the  light  of  God's  countenance. 
Picture  a  church  growing,  as  some  churches 
do  grow,  without  any  light  from  heaven,  a  cav- 
ern full  of  strange  birds  and  blanched  vegeta- 
tion. What  a  terrible  place  for  any  one  to 
visit !  There  is  a  cave  of  that  sort  at  Eome, 
and  there  are  others  in  various  parts  of  the 
earth ;  but  woe  unto  those  who  go  to  live  in 
such  dismal  dens ! 

What  a  wonderful  effect  the  light  of  God's 
countenance  has  upon  men  who  have  the  di- 
vine life  in  them,  but  who  have  been  living  in 
the  dark !  Travelers  tell  us  that,  in  the  vast 
forests  of  the  Amazon  and  the  Orinoco,  you 
may  sometimes  see,  on  a  grand  scale,  the  in- 
fluence of  light  in  the  coloring  of  the  plants 
when  the  leaf -buds  are  developing.  One  says : 
"  Clouds  and  rain  sometimes  obscure  the  at- 
mosphere for  several  days  together,  and  dur- 
ing this  time  the  buds  expand  themselves  into 
leaves.  But  these  leaves  have  a  pallid  hue  till 
the  sun  appears,  when,  in  a  few  hours  of 
clear  sky  and  splendid  sunshine,  their  color  is 
changed  to  a  vivid  green.  It  has  been  related 
that,  during  twenty  days  of  dark  dull  weather, 
the  sun  not  once  making  his  appearance,  the 
leaves  were  expanded  to  their  full  size,  but 
were  almost  white.  One  forenoon  the  sun 
began  to  shine  in  full  brightness,  when  the 


158  THE  ART   OF   ILLUSTRATION. 

color  of  tlie  forest  changed  so  rapidly  that  its 
progress  might  be  marked.  By  the  middle  of 
the  afternoon,  the  whole,  for  many  miles,  pre- 
sented the  usual  summer  dress." 

That  is  a  beautiful  illustration,  it  seems  to 
me,  that  does  not  want  any  opening  up ;  you 
can  all  make  the  application  of  it  to  the  Lord 
Jesus  for  yourselves.     As  Dr.  Watts  sings — 

In  the  darkest  shades  if  he  appear, 

My  dawning  is  begun  , 
He  is  my  soul's  sweet  morning  star, 

And  he  my  rising  sim. 

Then  we  begin  to  put  on  all  sorts  of  beauty, 
as  the  leaves  are  painted  by  the  rays  of  the 
sun.  We  owe  every  atom  of  color  that  there 
is  in  any  of  our  virtues,  and  every  trace  of 
flavor  that  there  is  in  any  of  our  fruits,  to 
those  bright  sunbeams  that  come  streaming 
down  to  us  from  the  Sun  of  Righteousness, 
who  carries  many  other  blessings  besides  heal- 
ing beneath  his  wings. 

The  effect  of  the  sun  upon  vegetation  can 
be  observed  among  the  flowers  in  your  own 
garden.  Notice  how  they  turn  to  him  when- 
ever they  can ;  the  sunflower,  for  instance,  fol- 
lows the  sun's  course  as  if  he  were  himself  the 
sun's  son,  and  lovingly  looked  up  to  his  father's 
face.     He  is  very  much  like  a  sun  in  appear- 


SCIENCES   AS    SOUKCES   OF   ILLUSTKATION.   159 

ance,  and  I  think  that  is  because  he  is  so  fond 
of  turning  to  the  sun.  The  innumerable  leaves 
of  a  clover  field  bend  toward  the  sun ;  and  all 
plants,  more  or  less,  pay  deference  to  the  sun- 
light to  which  they  are  so  deeply  indebted. 
Even  the  plants  in  the  hothouse,  you  can  ob- 
serve, do  not  grow  in  that  direction  you  would 
expect  them  to  do  if  they  wanted  warmth, 
that  is,  toward  the  stovepipe,  whence  the  heat 
comes,  nor  even  to  the  spot  where  most  air  is 
admitted ;  but  they  will  always,  if  they  pos- 
sibly can,  send  out  their  branches  and  their 
flowers  toward  the  sun.  That  is  how  we  ought 
to  grow  toward  the  Sun  of  Eighteousness ;  it 
is  for  our  soul's  health  that  we  should  turn 
our  faces  toward  the  Sun,  as  Daniel  prayed 
with  his  windows  open  toward  Jerusalem. 
Where  Jesus  is,  there  is  our  Sun ;  toward  him 
let  us  constantly  incline  our  whole  being. 

Not  very  long  ago  I  met  with  the  following 
remarkable  instance  of  the  power  of  rays  of 
light  transmitted  from  the  sun :  some  divers 
were  working  at  Plymouth  Breakwater ;  they 
were  down  in  the  diving-bell,  thirty  feet  below 
the  surface  of  the  water ;  but  a  convex  glass,  in 
the  upper  part  of  the  bell,  concentrated  the  sun's 
rays  full  upon  them,  and  burned  their  caps. 
As  I  read  this  story,  I  thought  it  was  a  capital 
illustration  of  the  power  there  is  in  the  gospel 


160  THE  ART   OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Some  of  our  hearers 
are  fully  thirty  feet  under  the  waters  of  sin,  if 
they  are  not  even  deeper  down  than  that ;  but, 
by  the  grace  of  God,  we  will  yet  make  them 
feel  the  blessed  burning  power  of  the  truths 
we  preach,  even  if  we  do  not  succeed  in  setting 
them  all  on  fire  with  this  powerful  glass.  Per- 
haps, when  you  were  a  boy,  you  had  a  burning- 
glass,  and  when  you  were  out  with  a  friend 
who  did  not  know  what  you  had  in  your  pock- 
et, while  he  was  sitting  very  quietly  by  your 
side,  you  took  out  your  glass,  and  held  it  for 
a  few  seconds  over  the  back  of  his  hand  until 
he  felt  something  rather  hot  just  there.  I  like 
the  man  who,  in  preaching,  concentrates  the 
rays  of  the  gospel  on  a  sinner  till  he  burns  him. 
Do  not  scatter  the  beams  of  light;  you  can 
turn  the  glass  so  as  to  diffuse  the  rays  instead 
of  concentrating  them;  but  the  best  way  of 
preaching  is  to  focus  Jesus  Christ,  the  Sun  of 
Righteousness,  right  on  a  sinner's  heart.  It  is 
the  best  way  in  the  world  to  get  at  him ;  and 
if  he  is  thirty  feet  under  the  water,  this  burn- 
ing-glass will  enable  you  to  reach  him ;  only 
mind  that  you  do  not  use  your  own  candle  in- 
stead of  the  Sun,  for  that  will  not  answer  the 
same  purpose. 

Sometimes  the  sun  suffers  eclipse,  as  you 
know.    The  moon  intrudes  between  us  and 


SCIENCES   AS   SOURCES   OF  ILLUSTRATION.   161 

the  sun,  and  then  we  cannot  see  the  great  orb 
of  day.  I  suppose  we  have  all  seen  one  total 
eclipse,  and  we  may  see  another.  It  is  a  very 
interesting  sight;  but  it  appears  to  me  that 
people  take  a  great  deal  more  notice  of  the  sun 
when  he  is  eclipsed  than  they  do  when  he  is 
shining  clearly.  They  do  not  stand  looking 
at  him,  day  after  day,  when  he  is  pouring  forth 
his  bright  beams  in  unclouded  glory ;  but  as 
soon  as  ever  he  is  eclipsed,  then  they  are  out 
in  their  thousands,  with  their  glasses,  and 
every  little  boy  in  the  street  has  a  fragment 
of  smoked  glass  through  which  he  watches  the 
eclipse  of  the  sun. 

Thus,  brethren,  I  do  not  believe  that  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  ever  receives  so  much  at- 
tention from  men  as  when  he  is  set  forth  as  the 
suffering  Saviour,  evidently  crucified  among 
them.  When  the  great  eclipse  passed  over  the 
Sun  of  Righteousness,  then  all  eyes  were  fixed 
upon  him,  and  well  they  might  be.  Do  not 
fail  to  tell  your  hearers  continually  about  that 
awful  eclipse  on  Calvary ;  but  mind  that  you 
also  tell  them  all  the  effects  of  that  eclipse, 
and  that  there  will  be  no  repetition  of  that 
stupendous  event. 


Lo !  the  sun's  eclipse  is  o'er  j 
Lo !  he  sets  in  blood  no  more. 


162  THE  ART   OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

Speaking  of  eclipses  reminds  me  that  there 
is,  in  the  book  I  have  mentioned,  a  striking 
description  of  one  given  by  a  correspondent 
who  wrote  to  the  astronomer  Halley.  He  took 
his  stand  at  Haradow  Hill,  close  to  the  east 
end  of  the  avenne  of  Stonehenge,  a  very  cap- 
ital place  for  observation,  and  there  he  watched 
the  eclipse.  He  says  of  it :  "  We  were  now  en- 
veloped in  a  total  and  palpable  darkness,  if  I 
may  be  allowed  the  expression.  It  came  on 
rapidly,  bnt  I  watched  so  attentively  that  I 
could  perceive  its  progress.  It  came  upon  us 
like  a  great  black  cloak  thrown  over  us,  or  like 
a  curtain  drawn  from  that  side.  The  horses 
we  held  by  the  bridle  seemed  deeply  struck  by 
it,  and  pressed  closely  to  us  with  marks  of  ex- 
treme surprise.  As  well  as  I  could  perceive, 
the  countenances  of  my  friends  wore  a  horrible 
aspect.  It  was  not  without  an  involuntary 
exclamation  of  wonder  that  I  looked  around 
me  at  this  moment.  It  was  the  most  awful 
sight  I  had  ever  beheld  in  my  life.'' 

So,  I  suppose,  it  must  be  in  the  spiritual 
realm.  When  the  Sun  of  this  great  world 
suffered  eclipse,  then  were  all  men  in  dark- 
ness ;  and  when  any  dishonor  comes  upon  the 
cross  of  Christ,  or  upon  Christ  himself,  then 
is  each  Christian  himself  in  darkness  of  a  hor- 


SCIENCES   AS   SOURCES  OF  ILLUSTRATION.   163 

rible  kind.  He  cannot  be  in  the  light  if  his 
Lord  and  Master  is  in  the  shade. 

One  observer  describes  what  he  saw  in  Aus- 
tria, where,  it  appears,  all  the  people  made  the 
eclipse  a  time  for  keeping  holiday,  and  turned 
out  together  on  the  plain  with  various  modes 
of  observing  the  wonderful  sight.  This  writer 
says :  "  The  phenomenon,  in  its  magnificence, 
had  triumphed  over  the  petulance  of  youth, 
over  the  levity  which  some  persons  assume  as 
a  sign  of  superiority,  over  the  noisy  indiffer- 
ence of  which  soldiers  usually  make  profession. 
A  profound  stillness  also  reigned  in  the  air ; 
the  birds  had  ceased  to  sing."  The  more  cur- 
ious thing  is  that,  in  London,  after  an  eclipse, 
when  the  cocks  found  that  the  sun  shone  out 
again,  they  all  began  crowing  as  though  they 
joyfully  thought  that  the  daylight  had  broken 
through  the  gloom  of  night. 

Yet  this  wonderful  phenomenon  does  not 
appear  to  have  always  attracted  the  attention 
of  all  persons  who  might  have  witnessed  it. 
History  says  that,  at  one  time,  there  was  a 
battle  being  fought,  I  think,  in  Greece,  and, 
during  its  progress,  there  came  on  a  total 
eclipse  of  the  sun ;  but  the  warriors  went  on 
fighting  all  the  same,  indeed,  they  never  noticed 
the  extraordinary  occurrence.    That  shows  us 


164  THE  AET   OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

how  strong  passions  may  make  us  forget  sur- 
rounding circumstances,  and  it  also  teaches  us 
how  a  man's  engagements  on  earth  may  make 
him  oblivious  of  all  that  is  transpiring  in  the 
heavens.  We  read,  just  now,  of  how  those 
horses,  that  were  standing  idly  on  Salisbury 
Plain,  trembled  during  the  eclipse ;  but  another 
writer  tells  us  that  the  horses  in  Italy,  that 
were  busily  occupied  in  drawing  the  carriages, 
do  not  appear  to  have  taken  the  slightest  notice 
of  the  phenomenon,  but  to  have  gone  on  their 
way  the  same  as  usual.  Thus,  the  engage- 
ments of  a  worldly  man  are  often  so  engross- 
ing in  their  character  that  they  prevent  him 
from  feeling  those  emotions  which  are  felt  by 
other  men  whose  minds  are  more  at  liberty  to 
meditate  upon  them. 

I  met  with  a  very  pretty  story  concerning 
an  eclipse,  which  you  will  probably  like  to  hear. 
A  poor  little  girl,  belonging  to  the  commune 
of  Sieyes,  in  the  Lower  Alps,  was  tending  her 
flock  on  the  mountain-side  at  six  o'clock  on  a 
bright  summer  morning.  The  sun  had  risen, 
and  was  dissipating  the  vapors  of  the  night, 
and  every  one  thought  that  there  would  be  a 
glorious,  unclouded -day ;  but  gradually  the 
light  darkened  until  the  sun  had  wholly  disap- 
peared, and  a  black  orb  took  the  place  of  the 
glowing  disk,  while  the  air  became  chill,  and  a 


SCIENCES   AS   SOURCES   OF  ILLUSTRATION.  165 

mysterious  gloom  pervaded  the  whole  region. 
The  little  child  was  so  terrified  by  the  circum- 
stance, which  was  certainly  unusual,  that  she 
began  to  weep,  and  cried  out  loudly  for  help. 
Her  parents,  and  other  friends,  who  came  at 
her  call,  did  not  know  anything  about  an 
eclipse,  so  they  were  also  astounded  and 
alarmed;  but  they  tried  to  comfort  her  as 
best  they  could.  After  a  short  tiuje,  the  dark- 
ness passed  away  from  the  face  of  the  sun,  and 
it  shone  out  as  before,  and  then  the  little  girl 
cried  aloud,  in  the  patois  of  the  district,  "  O 
beautiful  sun  !  "  and  well  she  might.  When  I 
read  the  story,  I  thought  that,  when  my  heart 
had  suffered  eclipse,  and  the  presence  of 
Christ  had  gone  for  a  while,  and  then  had 
come  back  again,  how  beautiful  the  Sun 
seemed  to  me,  even  more  bright  and  fair  than 
before  the  temporary  darkness.  Jesus  seemed 
to  shine  on  me  with  a  brighter  light  than 
ever  before,  and  my  soul  cried  out  in  an 
ecstasy  of  delight,  "  O  beautiful  Sun  of  Right- 


eousness 


f " 


That  story  must,  I  think,  close  our  illus- 
trations derived  from  the  sun;  for  we  want 
also  to  learn  all  we  can  from  his  planets, 
and  if  we  intend  to  pay  a  visit  to  them 
all,  we  shall  have  to  travel  far,  and  to  travel 
fast,  too. 


166  THE  AET  OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

The  nearest  planet  that  revolves  around  the 
sun  is  Mercury,  which  is  about  37,000,000  miles 
from  the  great  luminary.  Mercury,  therefore, 
receives  a  far  greater  allowance  of  light  and 
heat  from  the  sun  than  comes  to  us  upon  the 
earth.  It  is  believed  that,  even  at  the  poles  of 
Mercury,  water  would  always  boil ;  that  is  to 
say,  if  the  planet  is  constituted  at  all  as  this 
world  is.  None  of  us  could  possibly  live  there ; 
but  that  is  no  reason  why  other  people  should 
not,  for  God  could  make  some  of  his  creatures 
to  live  in  the  fire  just  as  well  as  he  could  make 
others  to  live  out  of  it.  I  have  no  doubt  that, 
if  there  are  inhabitants  there,  they  enjoy  the 
heat.  In  a  spiritual  sense,  at  any  rate,  we 
know  that  men  who  live  near  to  Jesus  dwell 
in  the  divine  flame  of  love. 

Mercury  is  a  comparatively  small  planet ;  its 
diameter  is  about  2960  miles,  while  that  of  the 
earth  is  7975.  Mercury  rushes  round  the  sun 
in  eighty-eight  days,  traveling  at  the  rate  of 
nearly  110,000  miles  in  an  hour,  while  the  earth 
traverses  only  65,000  miles  in  the  same  time. 
Fancy  crossing  the  Atlantic  in  about  two  or 
three  minutes !  It  is  an  instance  of  the  wis- 
dom of  God  that  Mercury  appears  to  be  the 
densest  of  the  planets.  You  see,  that  part  of 
a  machine  in  which  there  is  the  most  rapid 
whirl,  and  the  greatest  wear  and  tear,  ought 


SCIENCES   AS   SOUBCES   OF   ILLUSTKATION.   167 

to  be  made  of  the  strongest  material ;  and  Mer- 
cury is  made  very  strong  in  order  to  bear  the 
enormous  strain  of  its  swift  motion,  and  the 
great  heat  to  which  it  is  subjected. 

This  is  an  iUustration  of  how  God  fits  every 
man  for  his  place ;  if  he  means  me  to  be  Mer- 
cury— the  messenger  of  the  gods,  as  the  an- 
cients called  him — and  to  travel  swiftly,  he 
will  give  me  a  strength  proportioned  to  my 
day.  In  the  formation  of  every  planet,  adapt- 
ing it  to  its  peculiar  position,  there  is  a  won- 
derful proof  of  the  power  and  forethought  of 
God ;  and  in  a  similar  manner  does  he  fit  human 
beings  for  the  sphere  they  are  each  called  to 
occupy. 

I  like  to  see  in  Mercury  a  picture  of  the  child 
of  God  who  is  full  of  grace.  Mercury  is  al- 
ways near  the  sun ;  indeed,  so  near  that  it  is 
itself  very  seldom  seen.  I  think  Copernicus 
said  that  he  never  did  see  it,  although  he  had 
long  watched  for  it  with  great  care,  and  he 
deeply  regretted  that  he  had  to  die  without 
having  ever  seen  this  planet.  Others  have 
observed  it,  and  it  has  been  quite  a  treat  for 
them  to  be  able  to  watch  its  revolutions. 

Mercury  is  usually  lost  in  the  rays  of  the 
sun ;  and  that  is  where  you  and  I  ought  to  be, 
so  close  to  Christ,  the  Sun  of  Righteousness, 
in  our  life  and  in  our  preaching,  that  the  people 


168  THE  ART   OF   ILLUSTRATION, 

who  are  trying  to  observe  our  movements  can 
scarcely  see  us  at  all.  PauPs  motto  must  be 
ours— "Not  I,  but  Christ." 

Mercury,  also,  in  consequence  of  being  so 
near  the  sun,  is  apparently  the  least  under- 
stood of  any  of  the  planets.  It  has,  perhaps, 
given  more  trouble  to  the  astronomers  than 
any  other  member  of  the  heavenly  family ;  they 
have  paid  great  attention  to  it,  and  tried  to 
find  out  all  about  it ;  but  they  have  had  a  very 
difficult  task,  for  it  is  generally  lost  in  the  solar 
glory,  and  never  seen  in  a  dark  portion  of  the 
heavens.  So,  I  believe,  brethren,  that  the 
nearer  we  live  to  Christ,  the  greater  mystery 
shall  we  be  to  all  mankind.  The  more  we  are 
lost  in  his  brightness,  the  less  will  they  be  able 
to  understand  us. 

If  we  were  always  what  we  should  be,  men 
would  see  in  us  an  illustration  of  the  text,  "  Ye 
are  dead,  and  your  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in 
God."  Like  Mercury,  we  ought  also  to  be  so 
active  in  our  appointed  orbit  that  we  should 
not  give  observers  time  to  watch  us  in  any 
one  position ;  and  next,  we  should  be  so  ab- 
sorbed in  the  glory  of  Christ's  presence,  that 
they  would  not  be  able  to  perceive  us. 

When  Mercury  is  seen  from  the  earth,  it  is 
never  visible  in  its  brightness,  for  its  face  is 
always  turned  toward  the  sun.     I  am  afraid 


SCIENCES   AS   SOURCES   OF   ILLUSTRATION.    169 

that,  whenever  any  of  us  are  seen  very  much, 
we  usually  appear  only  as  black  spots ;  when 
the  preacher  is  very  prominent  in  a  sermon, 
there  is  always  a  darkness.  I  like  gospel 
preaching  to  be  all  Christ,  the  Sun  of  Right- 
eousness, and  no  black  spot  at  all ;  nothing  of 
ourselves,  but  all  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  If  there 
are  any  inhabitants  of  Mercury,  the  sun  must 
appear  to  them  four  or  five  times  as  large  as 
he  does  to  us;  the  brightness  would  be  insuf- 
ferable to  our  eyes.  It  would  be  a  very 
splendid  sight  if  one  could  gaze  upon  it ;  and 
thus,  the  nearer  you  get  to  Christ,  the  more 
you  see  of  him,  and  the  more  he  grows  in 
your  esteem. 

The  next  planet  to  Mercury  is  Venus  ;  it  is 
about  66,000,000  miles  from  the  sun,  and  is  a 
little  smaller  than  the  earth,  its  diameter  being 
7510  miles,  compared  with  our  7975.  Venus 
goes  round  the  sun  in  225  days,  traveling  at 
the  rate  of  80,000  miles  an  hour.  When  the 
Copernican  system  of  astronomy  was  fairly 
launched  upon  the  world,  one  of  the  objections 
to  it  was  stated  thus :  "  It  is  clear  that  Venus 
does  not  go  round  the  sun,  because,  if  it  does, 
it  must  present  the  same  aspect  as  the  moon — 
namely,  it  must  sometimes  be  a  crescent,  at 
other  times  a  half -moon,  or  it  must  assume  the 


170  THE  AllT   OF   ILLUSTRATION. 

form  known  as  gibbous^  and  sometimes  it  must 
appear  as  a  complete  circle.  But,"  said  the  ob- 
jector, pointing  to  Venus,  "  she  is  always  the 
same  size ;  look  at  her,  she  is  not  at  all  like  the 
moon."  This  was  a  difficulty  that  some  of  the 
earlier  astronomers  could  not  explain;  but 
when  Galileo  was  able  to  turn  his  newly  made 
telescope  to  the  planet,  what  did  he  discover? 
Why,  that  Venus  does  pass  through  similar 
phases  to  those  of  the  moon  !  We  cannot  al- 
ways see  the  whole  of  it  enlightened,  yet  I  sup- 
pose it  is  true  that  the  light  of  Venus  always 
appears  about  the  same  to  us.  You  will  per- 
ceive in  a  moment  why  that  is;  when  the 
planet's  face  is  turned  toward  us,  *  t  is  at  the 
greatest  distance  from  the  earth ;  consequently, 
the  light  that  reaches  us  is  no  more  than  when 
it  is  closer,  but  has  its  face  at  least  partly  turned 
away  from  us.  To  my  mind,  the  two  facts  are 
perfectly  reconcilable ;  and  so  is  it,  I  believe, 
with  some  of  the  doctrines  of  grace  that  per- 
plex certain  people.  They  say,  "  How  do  you 
make  these  two  things  agree  ?  "  I  reply,  "  I  do 
not  know  that  I  am  bound  to  prove  how  they 
agree.  If  God  had  told  me  I  would  tell  you ; 
but  as  he  has  not  done  so,  I  must  leave  the 
matter  where  the  Bible  leaves  it."  I  may  not 
have  discovered  the  explanation  of  any  appar- 
ent difference  between  the  two  truths,  and  yet. 


SCIENCES   AS    SOURCES   OF   ILLUSTRATION.   171 

for  all  that,  the  two  things  may  be  perfectly 
consistent  with  each  other. 

Venus  is  both  the  morning  star  and  *'the 
star  of  the  evening,  beautiful  star."  It  has 
been  called  Lucifer,  and  Phosphorus,  the  light- 
bringer,  and  also  Hesperus,  the  vesper  star. 
You  perhaps  remember  how  Milton,  in  ^'  Par- 
adise Lost,"  refers  to  this  double  character  and 
office  of  Venus : 

Fairest  of  stars !  last  in  the  train  of  night, 

If  better  thou  belong  not  to  the  dawn ; 

Sure  pledge  of  day,  that  crown'st  the  smiling  morn 

With  thy  bright  circlet :  praise  him  in  thy  sphere, 

While  day  arises,  that  sweet  hour  of  prime. 

Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  calls  himself  "the  bright 
and  morning  star."  Whenever  he  comes  into 
the  soul,  he  is  the  sure  harbinger  of  that  ever- 
lasting light  which  shall  go  no  more  down  for- 
ever. Now  that  Jesus,  the  Sun  of  Righteous- 
ness, has  gone  from  the  gaze  of  man,  you 
and  I  must  be  like  evening  stars,  keeping  as 
close  as  we  can  to  the  great  central  Sun,  and 
letting  the  world  know  what  Jesus  was  like  by 
our  resemblance  to  him.  Did  he  not  say  to 
his  disciples,  "  Ye  are  the  light  of  the  world  "  f 

The  next  little  planet  that  goes  round  the 
sun  is  The  Earth.    Its  distance  from  the  sun 


172  THE   ART   OF   ILLUSTRATION. 

varies  from  about  ninety-two  to  ninety-five 
millions  of  miles.  Do  not  be  discouraged, 
gentlemen,  in  your  hopes  of  reaching  the  sun, 
because  you  are  nothing  like  so  far  away  as 
the  inhabitants  of  Saturn ;  if  there  are  any  res- 
idents there,  they  are  about  ten  times  as  far 
from  the  sun  as  we  are.  Still,  I  do  not  suppose 
you  will  ever  take  a  seat  in  Sol's  fiery  chariot ; 
at  least  not  in  your  present  embodied  state ; 
it  is  far  too  warm  a  place  for  you  to  be  at  home 
there.  The  earth  is  somewhat  larger  than 
Venus,  and  it  takes  much  longer  to  go  round 
the  sun ;  it  is  twelve  months  on  its  journey,  or, 
speaking  exactly,  365  days,  6  hours,  9  minutes, 
and  10  seconds.  This  world  is  a  slow-going 
concern ;  and  I  am  afraid  it  is  less  to  the  glory 
of  God  than  any  other  world  that  he  has  made. 
I  have  not  seen  it  from  a  distance ;  but  I  should 
suspect  that  it  never  shines  anything  like  so 
brightly  as  Venus ;  for,  through  sin,  a  cloud  of 
darkness  has  enveloped  it.  I  suppose  that,  in 
the  millennial  days,  the  curtain  will  be  drawn 
back,  and  a  light  will  be  thrown  upon  the  earth, 
and  that  it  will  then  shine  to  the  glory  of  God 
like  its  sister  stars  that  have  never  lost  their 
pristine  brightness.  I  think  there  have  been 
some  curtains  drawn  up  already ;  every  sermon, 
full  of  Christ,  that  we  preach,  rolls  away  some 
of  the  mists  and  fogs  from  the  surface  of  the 


SCIENCES   AS   SOUKCES   OF   ILLUSTRATION.   173 

planet ;  at  any  rate,  morally  and  spiritually,  if 
not  naturally. 

Still,  brethren,  though  the  earth  travels  slow- 
ly, when  compared  with  Mercury  and  Venus, 
yet,  as  Galileo  said,  it  does  move,  and  at  a 
pretty  good  rate,  too.  I  dare  say,  if  you  were 
to  walk  for  twenty  minutes,  and  you  knew 
nothing  about  the  speed  at  which  the  earth  is 
traveling,  you  would  be  surprised  if  I  assured 
you  that  you  had  in  that  short  space  of  time 
gone  more  than  20,000  miles ;  but  it  would  be 
a  fact.  This  book,  which  has  already  given  us 
much  useful  information,  says :  "  It  is  a  truly 
astonishing  thought  that,  ^  awake,  asleep,  at 
home,  abroad,'  we  are  constantly  carried  round 
with  the  terrestrial  mass,  at  the  rate  of  eleven 
miles  a  minute,  and  are,  at  the  same  time, 
traveling  with  it  in  space  with  a  velocity  of 
sixty-six  thousand  miles  an  hour.  Thus,  dur- 
ing the  twenty  miDutes  consumed  in  walking 
a  mile  from  our  thresholds,  we  are  silently  con- 
veyed more  than  twenty  thousand  miles  from 
one  portion  of  space  to  another ;  and,  during  a 
night  of  eight  hours'  rest,  or  tossing  to  and  fro, 
we  are  unconsciously  translated  through  an 
extent  equal  to  twice  the  distance  of  the  lunar 
world." 

We  do  not  take  any  notice  of  this  movement, 
and  so  it  is  that  little  things,  which  are  near 


174  THE   AKT   OF   ILLUSTRATION. 

and  tangible,  often  seem  more  notable  than 
great  things  which  are  more  remote.  This 
world  impresses  many  men  with  far  greater 
force  than  the  world  to  come  has  ever  done, 
because  they  look  only  upon  the  things  that 
are  seen  and  temporal.  "But,"  perhaps  you 
say,  "  we  do  not  feel  ourselves  moving."  No, 
but  you  are  moving,  although  you  are  not  con- 
scious of  it.  So,  I  think  that,  sometimes,  when 
a  believer  in  Christ  does  not  feel  himself  ad- 
vancing in  divine  things,  he  need  not  fret  on 
that  account ;  I  am  not  certain  that  those  who 
imagine  themselves  to  be  growing  spiritually 
are  really  doing  so.  Perhaps  they  are  only 
growing  a  cancer  somewhere ;  and  its  deadly 
fibers  make  them  fancy  there  is  a  growth  with- 
in them.  Alas  !  so  there  is ;  but  it  is  a  growth 
unto  destruction. 

When  a  man  thinks  that  he  is  a  full-grown 
Christian,  he  reminds  me  of  a  poor  boy  whom 
I  used  to  see.  He  had  such  a  splendid  head 
for  his  body  that  he  had  often  to  lay  it  on  a 
pillow,  for  it  was  too  weighty  for  his  shoulders 
to  carry,  and  his  mother  told  me  that,  when  he 
tried  to  stand  up,  he  often  tumbled  down,  over- 
balanced by  his  heavy  head.  There  are  some 
people  who  appear  to  grow  very  fast,  but  they 
have  water  on  the  brain,  and  are  out  of  due 
proportion ;  but  he  who  truly  grows  in  grace 


SCIENCES   AS    SOURCES   OF   ILLUSTEATION.    175 

does  not  say,  *^  Dear  me !  I  can  feel  that  I  am 
growing ;  bless  the  Lord !  Let's  sing  a  hymn, 
^  I'm  a-growing !  I'm  a-growing ! ' "  I  have 
sometimes  felt  that  I  was  growing  smaller, 
brethren;  I  think  that  is  very  possible,  and  a 
good  thing,  too.  If  we  are  very  great  in  our 
own  estimation,  it  is  because  we  have  a  num- 
ber of  cancers,  or  foul  gatherings,  that  need  to 
be  lanced,  so  as  to  let  out  the  bad  matter  that 
causes  us  to  boast  of  our  bigness. 

It  is  a  good  thing  that  we  do  not  feel  our- 
selves moving,  for,  as  I  before  reminded  you, 
we  walk  by  faith,  not  by  sight.  Yet  I  know 
that  we  are  moving,  and  I  am  persuaded  that 
I  shall  return,  as  nearly  as  the  earth's  revolu- 
tion permits,  to  this  exact  spot  this  day  twelve- 
month. If  they  are  looking  down  at  me  from 
Saturn,  they  will  spy  me  out  somewhere  near 
this  same  place,  unless  the  Lord  should  come 
in  the  meantime,  or  he  should  call  me  up  to  be 
with  him. 

If  we  did  feel  the  world  move,  it  would  prob- 
ably be  because  there  was  some  obstruction 
in  the  heavenly  road ;  but  we  go  on  so  softly, 
and  gently,  and  quietly  that  we  do  not  per- 
ceive it.  I  beheve  that  growth  in  grace  is  very 
much  after  the  same  fashion.  A  babe  grows, 
and  yet  does  not  know  that  he  grows ;  the  seed 
unconsciously  grows  in  the  earth,  and  so  we 


176  THE  AKT   OF   ILLUSTKATION. 

are  developing  in  the  divine  life  until  we  come 
to  the  fulness  of  the  stature  of  men  in  Christ 
Jesus. 

Waiting  upon  the  earth  is  The  Moon.  In 
addition  to  her  duty  as  one  of  the  planets  re- 
volving round  the  sun,  she  has  the  task  of  at- 
tending upon  the  earth,  doing  much  useful  ser- 
vice for  it,  and  at  night  lighting  it  with  her 
great  reflector-lamp,  according  to  the  allowance 
of  oil  she  has  available  for  shedding  her  beams 
upon  us.  The  moon  also  operates  upon  the 
earth  by  her  powers  of  attraction ;  and  as  the 
water  is  the  more  mobile  part  of  our  planet, 
the  moon  draws  it  toward  herself,  so  making 
the  tides;  and  those  tides  help  to  keep  the 
whole  world  in  healthful  motion ;  they  are  a 
sort  of  life-blood  to  it. 

The  moon  undergoes  eclipse,  sometimes  very 
frequently,  and  a  great  deal  more  often  than 
the  sun ;  and  this  phenomenon  has  occasioned . 
much  terror.  Among  some  tribes,  an  eclipse 
of  the  moon  is  an  occasion  for  the  greatest 
possible  grief.  Sir  R.  Schomberg  thus  de- 
scribes a  total  lunar  eclipse  in  San  Domingo : 
"  I  stood  alone  upon  the  flat  roof  of  the  house 
which  I  inhabited,  watching  the  progress  of 
the  eclipse.  I  pictured  in  imagination  the 
lively  and  extraordinary  scene  which  I  once 


SCIENCES   AS   SOURCES   OF   ILLUSTRATION.   177 

witnessed  in  the  interior  of  Guiana,  among  the 
untutored  and  superstitious  Indians,  how  they 
rushed  out  of  their  huts  when  the  first  news 
of  the  ecHpse  came,  gibbered  in  their  tongue, 
and,  with  violent  gesticulations,  threw  up  their 
clenched  fists  toward  the  moon.  When,  as  on 
this  occasion,  the  disk  was  perfectly  eclipsed, 
they  broke  out  in  moanings,  and  sullenly 
squatted  upon  the  ground,  hiding  their  faces 
between  their  hands.  The  females  remained, 
during  this  strange  scene,  within  their  huts. 
When,  shining  like  a  sparkling  diamond,  the 
first  portion  of  the  moon,  that  had  disencum- 
bered itself  from  the  shadow,  became  visible, 
all  eyes  were  turned  toward  it.  They  spoke 
to  each  other  with  subdued  voices ;  but  their 
observations  became  louder  and  louder,  and 
they  quitted  their  stooping  position  as  the  light 
increased.  When  the  bright  disk  announced 
that  the  monster  which  wanted  to  stifle  the 
Queen  of  Night  had  been  overcome,  the  great 
joy  of  the  Indians  was  expressed  in  that  pecu- 
liar whoop  which,  in  the  stillness  of  the  night, 
may  be  heard  for  a  great  distance." 

Want  of  faith  causes  the  most  extraordinary 
fear,  and  produces  the  most  ridiculous  action. 
A  man  who  believes  that  the  moon,  though 
temporarily  hidden,  will  shine  forth  again, 
looks  upon  an  eclipse  as  a  curious  phenomenon 


178  THE  ART   OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

worthy  of  his  attention,  and  full  of  interest ; 
but  the  man  who  really  fears  that  God  is  blow- 
ing out  the  light  of  the  moon,  and  that  he  shall 
never  see  its  bright  rays  any  more,  feels  in  a 
state  of  terrible  distress.  Perhaps  he  will  act 
as  the  Hindus  and  some  of  the  Africans  do 
during  an  eclipse :  they  beat  old  drums,  and 
blow  bullocks'  horns,  and  make  all  manner  of 
frightful  noises,  to  cause  the  dragon  who  is 
supposed  to  have  swallowed  the  moon  to  vomit 
it  up  again.  That  is  their  theory  of  an  eclipse, 
and  they  act  accordingly ;  but  once  know  the 
truth,  and  know  especially  the  glorious  truth 
that  "  all  things  work  together  for  good  to 
them  that  love  God,  to  them  that  are  the  called 
according  to  his  purpose,"  and  we  shall  not  be 
afraid  of  any  dragon  swallowing  the  moon,  nor 
of  anything  else  that  the  fears  of  men  have 
made  them  imagine.  If  we  are  ignorant  of  the 
truth,  every  event  that  occurs,  which  may  be 
readily  enough  accounted  for  from  God's  point 
of  view,  may  cause  the  utmost  terror,  and  drive 
us,  perhaps,  into  the-  wildest  follies. 

The  next  planet  to  the  earth  is  Mars  ;  fiery 
Mars,  generally  shining  with  a  ruddy  light.  It 
used  to  be  thought  that  the  color  of  Mars's 
"  blood-red  shield  "  was  caused  by  the  absorp- 
tion of  the  solar  rays ;  but  this  idea  has  been 


SCIENCES   AS   SOURCES   OF   ILLUSTEATION.   179 

refuted,  and  it  is  now  believed  to  be  due  to  the 
color  of  its  soil.  According  to  the  former  idea, 
an  angry  man,  who  is  like  Mars,  the  god  of 
war,  must  be  one  who  has  absorbed  all  other 
colors  for  his  own  use,  and  only  shows  the  red 
rays  to  others ;  while  the  more  modern  notion, 
that  the  soil  of  the  planet  gives  it  its  distinctive 
color,  teaches  us  that,  where  there  is  a  fiery 
nature,  there  will  be  a  warlike  exhibition  of  it 
unless  it  is  restrained  by  grace.  Mars  is  about 
140,000,000  miles  from  the  sun ;  it  is  much 
smaller  than  our  earth,  its  equatorial  diameter 
being  4363  miles.  Traveling  at  the  rate  of 
53,600  miles  an  hour,  it  takes  687  days  to  com- 
plete its  revolution  round  tlie  sun. 

Between  the  orbits  of  Mars  and  Jupiter  there 
is  a  wide  zone,  in  which,  for  many  centuries, 
no  planets  were  visible ;  but  the  astronomers 
said  within  themselves,  "There  must  surely 
be  something  or  other  between  Mars  and  Ju- 
piter." They  could  not  find  any  great  plan- 
ets ;  but  as  telescopes  became  larger  and  more 
powerful,  they  observed  that  there  was  a  great 
number  of  Asteroids  or  Planetoids,  as  some 
term  them.  1  do  not  know  how  many  there 
are,  for  they  are  like  some  of  our  brethren's 
families,  they  are  daily  increasing.  Some  hun- 
dreds of  them  have  already  been  discovered ; 


180  THE  AET   OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

and  by  the  aid  of  telescopic  photography,  we 
may  expect  to  hear  of  the  finding  of  many 
more.  The  first  asteroid  was  identified  on  the 
first  day  of  the  present  century,  and  was 
named  Ceres.  Many  of  them  have  been  called 
by  female  mythological  names,  I  suppose  be- 
cause they  are  the  smaller  planets,  and  it  is 
considered  gallant  to  give  them  ladies'  names. 
They  appear  to  vary  from  about  20  to  200  miles 
in  diameter ;  and  many  have  thought  that  they 
are  the  fragments  of  some  planet  that  once  re- 
volved between  Mars  and  Jupiter,  but  that  has 
been  blown  up,  and  gone  to  pieces  in  a  general 
wreck. 

Those  meteoric  stones,  which  sometimes  fall 
to  the  earth,  but  which  much  more  frequently, 
at  certain  seasons  of  the  year,  are  seen  shooting 
across  the  midnight  sky,  may  also  be  fragments 
of  the  aforesaid  world  which  has  perished.  At 
all  events,  since  the  fathers  fell  asleep,  all  things 
have  not  continued  as  they  were ;  there  have 
been  changes  in  the  starry  world  to  let  men 
know  that  other  changes  will  yet  come.  These 
blocks  of  meteoric  matter  are  flying  through 
space,  and  when  they  get  within  the  range  of 
our  atmosphere,  there  is  an  opposing  medium, 
they  have  to  drive  through  it  at  an  enormous 
rapidity,  and  so  they  become  burning  hot,  and 
thus  they  become  visible.    And,  in  like  man- 


SCIENCES  AS   SOURCES   OF  ILLUSTRATION.   181 

ner,  I  believe  that  there  are  plenty  of  good 
men  in  the  world  who  are  invisible  till  they 
get  to  be  opposed,  and  being  opposed,  and  hav- 
ing the  love  of  God  driving  them  on  with 
tremendous  momentum,  they  become  red-hot 
with  holy  fervor,  they  overcome  all  opposition, 
and  then  they  become  visible  to  the  eye  of  man- 
kind. For  my  part,  I  rather  like  to  pass 
through  an  opposing  medium.  I  think  that 
we  all  want  to  travel  in  that  kind  of  atmo- 
sphere just  to  give  us  the  sacred  friction  that 
will  fully  develop  the  powers  with  which  we 
have  been  intrusted.  If  God  has  given  us 
force,  it  is  not  at  all  a  bad  thing  for  us  to  be 
put  where  there  is  opposition,  because  we  shall 
not  be  stopped  by  it,  but  shall  by  that  very 
process  be  made  to  shine  all  the  brighter  as 
lights  in  the  world. 

Beyond  the  space  which  is  occupied  by  the 
asteroids  is  the  magnificent  planet,  Jupiter, 
the  brightest  star  which  we  see,  except  Yenus ; 
and  yet  he  is  very,  very  far  away.  His  mean 
distance  from  the  sun  is  about  475,000,000 
miles ;  that  is,  more  than  five  times  as  far  off 
as  we  are.  Even  here,  we  are  so  far  away  that 
we  do  not  often  see  the  sun ;  but  Jupiter  is  five 
times  as  far  from  the  sun,  and  it  takes  him 
4333  days,  or  nearly  twelve  of  our  years,  to  go 


182  THE   ART   OF   ILLUSTRATION. 

round  the  great  luminary,  traveling  at  a  speed 
of  27,180  miles  an  hour.  The  reason  why  Ju- 
piter is  so  bright  is,  partly,  because  of  his  great 
size,  for  he  is  nearly  90,000  miles  in  diameter, 
while  the  earth  is  less  than  8000,  and  it  may 
be  partly  because  he  is  better  constituted  for 
reflecting,  or  else,  at  that  distance,  his  magni- 
tude would  not  avail  him.  And  brethren,  if 
you  and  I  are  put  in  difficult  positions,  where 
we  seem  to  be  unable  to  shine  to  the  glory  of 
God,  we  must  ask  the  Lord  specially  to  consti- 
tute us  so  that  we  can  better  reflect  his  bright- 
ness, and  so  produce  as  good  an  effect  as  our 
brethren  who  are  placed  in  more  favorable 
positions. 

Jupiter  is  attended  by  four  moons.*  These 
satellites  were  discovered  soon  after  the  inven- 
tion of  the  telescope ;  yet  there  were  several 
persons  who  would  not  believe  in  their  exis- 
tence, and  one  of  our  excellent  friends,  the 
Jesuits,  of  course,  was  strongest  in  his  deter- 
mination that  he  never  would,  by  any  process, 
be  convinced  of  that  which  others  knew  to  be 
a  fact.  He  was  asked  to  look  through  a  tele- 
scope in  order  to  see  that  it  was  really  so ;  but 
he  declined  because  he  said  that,  perhaps,  if 
he  did  so,  he  would  be  obliged  to  believe  it ; 

*  In  1892  a  fifth  satellite  was  discovered  through  the 
great  telescope  at  the  Lick  Observatory  in  California. 


SCIENCES   AS   SOURCES   OF  ILLUSTRATION.   l83 

and  as  he  liad  no  desire  to  do  so,  he  refused 
to  look.  Are  there  not  some  who  act  thus 
toward  the  truths  of  revelation!  Some  time 
after,  the  Jesuit  fell  under  the  anger  of  good 
Kepler,  and  being  convinced  that  he  was  in 
the  wrong,  he  went  to  the  astronomer  and 
begged  his  pardon.  Kepler  told  him  that  he 
would  forgive  him,  but  he  would  have  to  in- 
flict a  penance  upon  him.  "  What  will  it  be  f  " 
he  inquired.  ^'  Why,"  said  Kepler,  "  you  must 
look  through  that  telescope."  That  was  the 
direst  punishment  the  Jesuit  could  possibly 
receive ;  for,  when  he  looked  through  the  in- 
strument, he  was  obliged  to  say  that  he  did  see 
what  he  had  formerly  denied,  and  he  was 
obliged  to  express  his  conviction  of  the  truth 
of  the  astronomer's  teaching.  So,  sometimes, 
to  make  a  man  see  the  truth  is  a  very  severe 
penalty  to  him.  If  he  does  not  want  to  see  it, 
it  is  a  good  thing  to  compel  him  to  look  at  it. 
There  are  a  great  many  brethren,  who  are  not 
Jesuits,  and  who  yet  are  not  anxious  to  know 
the  whole  truth ;  but  I  hope  that  you  and  I, 
brethren,  will  always  desire  to  learn  all  that 
the  Lord  has  revealed  in  his  Word. 

This  was  the  argument  of  Sizzi,  an  astron- 
omer of  some  note,  who  tried  to  prove  that 
Jupiter's  moons  could  not  exist.  I  wonder 
whether  vou  can  see  the  flaw  in  it :  "  There  are 


184  THE  ART  OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

seven  windows  given  to  animals  in  the  domicile 
of  the  head,  through  which  the  air  is  admitted 
to  the  tabernacle  of  the  body,  to  enlighten,  to 
warm,  and  to  nourish  it;  which  windows  are 
the  principal  parts  of  the  microcosm,  or  little 
world,  two  nostrils,  two  eyes,  two  ears,  and 
one  mouth.  So,  in  the  heavens,  as  in  a  micro- 
cosm, or  great  world,  there  are  two  favorable 
stars,  Jupiter  and  Yenus;  two  unpropitious. 
Mars  and  Saturn ;  two  luminaries,  the  sun  and 
the  moon ;  and  Mercur}^  alone  undecided  and 
indifferent,  from  which,  and  from  many  other 
phenomena  of  nature,  such  as  the  seven  metals, 
etc.,  which  it  were  tedious  to  enumerate,  we 
gather  that  the  number  of  planets  is  necessarily 
seven.  Moreover,  the  satellites  are  invisible 
to  the  naked  eye,  and  therefore  can  exercise 
no  influence  over  the  earth,  and  therefore 
would  be  useless,  and  therefore  do  not  exist. 
Besides,  as  well  the  Jews  and  other  ancient 
nations,  as  modern  Europeans,  have  adopted 
the  division  of  the  week  into  seven  days,  and 
have  named  them  from  the  seven  planets. 
Now,  if  we  increase  the  number  of  the  planets, 
this  whole  s^^stem  falls  to  the  ground." 

I  think,  brethren,  that  I  have  heard  the 
same  kind  of  argument  advanced  many  times 
with  reference  to  spiritual  matters ;  that  is,  an 
argument  from  theory  against  fact ;  but  facts 


SCIENCES   AS   SOURCES   OF   ILLUSTRATION.   185 

will  always  overturn  theories  all  the  world 
over,  only  that,  sometimes,  it  takes  a  good 
while  before  the  facts  can  be  absolutely  proved. 

It  is  a  singular  thing,  and  another  instance 
of  the  power  and  wisdom  of  God,  that  though 
the  satelhtes  of  Jupiter  are  constantly  being 
eclipsed,  as  is  natural  enough  from  their  rapid 
revolutions  around  him,  yet  they  are  never  all 
eclipsed  at  one  time.  One  moon  may  be 
eclipsed,  and  perhaps  another,  or  even  three 
out  of  the  four ;  but  there  is  always  one  left 
shining ;  and,  in  like  manner,  God  never  takes 
away  all  the  comfort  of  his  people  at  once, 
there  is  always  some  ray  of  light  to  cheer  them. 

There  is  a  great  deal  more  to  be  learned  from 
Jupiter ;  but  having  introduced  you  to  him,  I 
will  leave  you  to  examine  him  for  yourselves, 
and  to  get  all  you  can  out  of  him. 

Far,  far  beyond  Jupiter  is  Saturn.  That 
respectable  planet  has  been  very  much  slan- 
dered, but  I  am  happy  to  inform  you  that  he 
does  not  deserve  such  treatment.  He  is  nearly 
900,000,000  miles  from  the  sun.  I  wonder 
whether  any  brother  here,  with  a  large  mind, 
has  any  idea  of  what  a  million  is;  I  do  not 
suppose  that  he  has,  and  I  am  sure  that  I  have 
not.  It  takes  a  vast  deal  of  thinking  to  com- 
prehend what  a  miUion  means ;  but  to  realize 


186    •  THE  AET  OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

what  is  meant  by  a  million  miles  is  altogether 
beyond  one's  mental  grasp.  A  million  pins 
would  be  something  enormous ;  but  a  million 
miles !  And  here  we  are  talking  of  nine  hun- 
dred millions  of  miles;  well,  I  give  up  all 
thought  of  understanding  what  that  is  so  long- 
as  I  am  in  this  finite  state.  Why,  when  you 
speak  of  nine  hundred  millions,  you  might  as 
well  say  nine  hundred  billions  at  once ;  for  the 
one  term  is  almost  as  incomprehensible  as  the 
other;  and  yet,  please  to  recollect  that  this 
vast  space  is  to  our  great  God  only  a  mere 
hand's-breadth  compared  with  the  immeasur- 
able universe  that  he  has  created. 

I  said  that  Saturn  had  been  greatly  slan- 
dered, and  so  he  has.  You  know  that  we 
have,  in  our  English  language,  the  word  "  sat- 
urnine," as  a  very  uncomplimentary  descrip- 
tion of  certain  individuals.  When  a  man  is 
praised  for  being  very  hearty  and  genial,  he  is 
said  to  be  jovial,  in  allusion  to  Jove,  or  Jupi- 
ter, the  brightly  shining  planet ;  but  a  person 
of  an  opposite  temperament  is  called  saturnine, 
because  it  is  supposed  that  Saturn  is  a  dull 
planet,  dreadfully  dreary,  and  that  his  influ- 
ences are  malignant  and  baneful.  If  you  have 
read  some  of  the  astrological  books  which  I 
have  had  the  pleasure  of  studying,  you  have 
there  been  told  that,  if  you  had  been  born 


SCIENCES   AS   SOURCES   OF  ILLUSTRATION.   187 

under  the  influence  of  Saturn,  you  might  al- 
most as  well  have  been  born  under  the  influ- 
ence of  Satan,  for  it  will  come  to  about  the 
same  thing  in  the  end.  He  is  supposed  to  be 
a  very  slow  sort  of  individual,  his  symbol  is 
the  hieroglyphic  of  lead ;  but  he  is  really  a  very 
light  and  buoj^ant  personage.  His  diameter  is 
about  nine  times  as  great  as  that  of  the  earth, 
and  while  in  volume  he  is  equal  to  746  worlds 
as  large  as  ours,  his  weight  is  equal  to  only  92 
such  globes.  The  densities  of  the  planets  ap- 
pear to  diminish  according  to  their  distance 
from  the  sun,  not  in  regular  proportion,  but 
still  very  largely  so ;  and  there  seems  to  be  no 
reason  why  those  which  are  most  remote,  and 
travel  slowly,  should  be  made  so  dense  as  those 
which  are  nearer  the  central  orb,  and  revolve 
more  quickly  around  him. 

This  useful  volume,  from  which  I  have  al- 
ready given  you  several  extracts,  says:  "In- 
stead, therefore,  of  sinking  like  lead  in  the 
mighty  waters,  he  would  float  upon  the  liquid, 
if  an  ocean  could  be  found  sufficiently  capa- 
cious to  receive  him.  John  Goad,  the  well- 
known  astro-meteorologist,  declared  the  planet 
not  to  be  such  a  *  plumbeous,  blue-nosed  fel- 
low' as  all  antiquity  had  believed  and  the 
world  still  supposed.  But  it  was  the  work  of 
others  to  prove  it.    For  six  thousand  years  or 


188  THE  ART   OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

SO  Saturn  concealed  his  personal  features,  in- 
teresting family,  and  strange  appurtenances — 
tlie  magnificent  out-buildings  of  his  house — 
from  the  knowledge  of  mankind.  But  he  was 
caught  at  last  by  a  little  tube,  pointed  at  him 
from  a  slope  of  the  Apennines,  the  holder  of 
which,  in  invading  his  privacy,  cared  not  to 
ask  leave,  and  deemed  it  no  intrusion."  When 
that  "  little  tube  "  was  turned  upon  him  he  was 
found  to  be  a  most  beautiful  planet,  one  of  the 
most  varied  and  most  marvelous  of  all  the 
planetary  worlds. 

Take  that  as  an  illustration  of  the  falseness 
of  slander,  and  of  how  some  persons  are  very 
much  bemired  and  bespattered  because  people 
do  not  know  them.  This  planet,  which  was 
so  despised,  turned  out  to  be  a  very  beautiful 
object  indeed ;  and,  instead  of  being  very  dull, 
and  what  the  word  saturnine  usually  means, 
he  is  bright  and  glorious.  Saturn  also  has  no 
less  than  eight  satellites  to  attend  him ;  and, 
in  addition,  he  has  three  magnificent  rings,  of 
which  Tennyson  has  sung : 

Still  as,  while  Saturn  whirls,  his  steadfast  shade 
Sleeps  on  his  luminous  rings. 

Saturn  has  only  about  a  hundredth  part  of 
the  light  from  the  sun  as  compared  with  what 
we  receive ;  and  yet,  I  suppose,  the  atmosphere 


SCIENCES   AS   SOUKCES   OF   ELLUSTKATION.   189 

might  be  so  arranged  that  he  might  have  as 
much  solar  light  as  we  have ;  but  even  if  the 
atmosphere  is  of  the  same  kind  as  ours,  Saturn 
would  still  have  as  much  light  as  we  have  in 
an  ordinary  London  fog. "  I  am  speaking,  of 
course,  of  the  light  from  the  sun ;  but  then  we 
cannot  tell  what  illuminating  power  the  Lord 
may  have  put  in  the  planet  himself ;  and  be- 
side that,  he  has  his  eight  moons,  and  his  three 
shining  rings,  which  have  a  brilliance  that  we 
cannot  either  imagine  or  describe.  What  must 
it  be  to  see  a  marvelous  arch  of  light  rising  to 
a  height  of  37,570  miles  above  the  planet,  and 
having  the  enormous  span  of  170,000  miles ! 
If  you  were  at  the  equator  of  Saturn,  you 
would  only  see  the  rings  as  a  narrow  band  of 
light;  but  if  you  could  journey  toward  the 
poles,  you  would  see  above  you  a  tremendous 
arch,  blazing  with  light,  like  some  of  the  vast 
reflectors  that  you  see  hung  up  in  large  build- 
ings where  they  cannot  get  sufficient  sunlight. 
The  reflector  helps  to  gather  up  the  rays  of 
light,  and  throw  them  where  they  are  needed ; 
and  I  have  no  doubt  that  these  rings  act  like 
reflectors  to  Saturn.  It  must  be  a  wonderful 
world  to  live  in  if  there  are  inhabitants  there ; 
they  get  compensations  which  fully  make  up 
for  their  disadvantages  in  being  so  far  away 
from  the  sun.    So  is  it  in  the  spii^itual  world, 


190  THE  ART   OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

what  the  Lord  withholds  in  one  direction  he 
makes  up  in  another ;  and  those  who  are  far 
removed  from  the  means  of  grace  and  Chris- 
tian privileges  have  an  inward  light  and  joy, 
which  others,  with  greater  apparent  advan- 
tages, might  almost  envy. 

Journeying  again  in  the  heavens,  far,  far 
beyond  Saturn,  we  come  to  Uranus,  or  Her- 
SCHEL,  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  after  the  as- 
tronomer who  discovered  it  in  1781.  The 
mean  distance  of  Uranus  from  the  sun  is  be- 
lieved to  be  about  1,754,000,000  miles;  I  give 
you  the  figures,  but  neither  you  nor  I  can  have 
the  slightest  conception  of  the  distance  they 
represent.  To  an  observer  standing  on  Uranus, 
the  sun  would  probably  appear  only  as  a  far- 
away speck  of  light ;  yet  the  planet  revolves 
around  the  sun  at  about  15,000  miles  an  hour, 
and  occupies  about  eighty-four  of  our  years  in 
completing  one  journey.  Uranus  is  said  to  be 
equal  in  volume  to  seventy-three  or  seventy- 
four  earths,  and  to  be  attended  by  four  moons. 
I  do  not  know  much  about  Uranus,  therefore 
I  do  not  intend  to  say  much  about  him. 

That  may  serve  as  an  illustration  of  the  les- 
son that  a  man  had  better  say  as  little  as  pos- 
sible concerning  anything  of  which  he  knows 
only  a  little ;  and  that  is  a  lesson  which  many 


SCIENCES    AS    SOUKCES   OF   ILLUSTRATION.   191 

people  need  to  learn.  For  instance,  there  are 
probably  more  works  on  the  Book  of  Revela- 
tion than  upon  any  other  part  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, and,  with  the  exception  of  just  a  few, 
they  are  not  worth  the  paper  on  which  they 
are  printed.  Then,  next  to  the  Book  of  Rev- 
elation, in  this  respect,  is  the  Book  of  Daniel ; 
and  because  it  is  so  difficult  to  explain,  many 
men  have  written  upon  it,  but  as  a  rule  the 
result  of  their  writing  has  been  that  they  have 
onl}^  confuted  and  contradicted  one  another. 
Let  us,  brethren,  preach  what  we  know,  and 
say  nothing  of  that  of  which  we  are  ignorant. 

We  have  gone  a  long  way,  in  imagination, 
in  traveling  to  the  planet  Uranus ;  but  we  have 
not  yet  completed  our  afternoon's  journey.  It 
was  observed  by  certain  astronomers  that  the 
orbit  of  Uranus  sometimes  deviated  from  the 
course  they  had  marked  in  their  chart  of  the 
heavens;  and  this  convinced  them  that  there 
was  another  planetary  body,  not  then  discov- 
ered, which  was  exerting  an  unseen  but  power- 
ful influence  upon  Uranus. 

This  fact,  that  these  huge  worlds,  with  so 
many  millions  of  miles  of  space  between  them, 
do  retard  or  accelerate  one  another's  move- 
ments, is  to  me  a  beautiful  illustration  of  the 
influence  that  you  and  I  have  upon  our  fellow- 


192  THE  ART   OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

men.  Whether  consciously  or  unconsciously, 
we  either  impede  a  man's  progress  in  the  path 
that  leads  to  God,  or  else  we  quicken  his  march 
along  the  heavenward  way.  "  None  of  us  liveth 
to  himself." 

The  astronomers  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
there  must  be  another  planet,  previously  un- 
known to  them,  that  was  disturbing  the  mo- 
tion of  Uranus.  Unknown  to  each  other,  an 
Englishman,  Mr.  Adams,  of  Cambridge,  and  a 
Frenchman,  M.  Leverrier,  set  to  work  to  find 
out  the  position  in  which  they  expected  the 
heavenly  body  to  be  discovered,  and  their  cal- 
culations brought  them  to  almost  identical  re- 
sults. When  the  telescopes  were  pointed  to 
that  part  of  the  heavens  where  the  mathemati- 
cal astronomers  believed  the  planet  would  be 
found,  it  was  at  once  discovered,  shining  with 
a  pale  and  yellow  light,  and  we  now  know  it 
by  the  name  of  Neptune. 

The  volume  before  me  thus  speaks  of  the 
two  methods  of  finding  a  planet,  the  one  worker 
using  the  most  powerful  telescope,  and  the 
other  making  mathematical  calculations :  "  To 
detect  a  planet  by  the  eye,  or  to  track  it  to  its 
place  by  the  mind,  are  acts  as  incommensu- 
rable as  those  of  muscular  and  intellectual 
power.  Recumbent  on  his  easy-chair,  the 
practical  astronomer  has  but  to  look  through 


SCIENCES   AS    SOURCES    OF   ILLUSTRATION.   193 

the  cleft  in  his  revolving  cupola  in  order  to 
trace  the  pilgrim  star  in  its  course ;  or,  by  the 
application  of  magnifying  power,  to  expand  its 
tiny  disk,  and  thus  transfer  it  from  among  its 
sidereal  companions  to  the  planetary  domains. 
The  physical  astronomer,  on  the  contrary,  has 
no  such  auxiliaries :  he  calculates  at  noon,  when 
the  stars  disappear  under  a  meridian  sun ;  he 
computes  at  midnight,  when  clouds  and  dark- 
ness shroud  the  heavens ;  and  from  within  that 
cerebral  dome  which  has  no  opening  heaven- 
ward, and  no  instrument  but  the  eye  of  reason, 
he  sees  in  the  disturbing  agencies  of  an  unseen 
planet,  upon  a  planet  by  him  equally  unseen, 
the  existence  of  the  disturbing  agent,  and  from 
the  nature  and  amount  of  its  action  he  com- 
putes its  magnitude  and  indicates  its  place." 

What  a  grand  thing  is  reason !  Far  above 
the  mere  senses,  and  then  faith  is  high  above 
reason ;  only,  in  the  case  of  the  mathematical 
astronomer  of  whom  we  are  thinking,  reason 
was  a  kind  of  faith.  He  argued :  "  God's 
laws  are  so-and-so  and  so-and-so.  This  planet 
Uranus  is  being  disturbed,  some  other  planet 
must  have  disturbed  it,  so  I  will  search  and 
find  out  where  he  is ;  "  and  when  his  intricate 
calculations  were  completed,  he  put  his  finger 
on  Neptune  as  readily  as  a  detective  lays  his 
hand  on  a  burglar,  and  a  great  deal  sooner ;  in- 


194  THE  AKT   OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

deed,  it  seems  to  me  that  it  is  often  easier  to 
find  a  star  than  to  catch  a  thief. 

Neptune  had  long  been  shining  before  he 
was  discovered  and  named;  and  you  and  I, 
brethren,  may  remain  unknown  for  years,  and 
possibly  the  world  may  never  discover  us ;  but 
I  trust  that  our  influence,  like  that  of  Neptune, 
will  be  felt  and  recognized,  whether  we  are  seen 
of  men  or  only  shine  in  solitary  splendor  to 
the  glory  of  God. 

Well,  we  have  traveled  in  thought  as  far  as 
Neptune,  which  is  about  2,748,000,000  miles 
from  the  sun;  and,  standing  there,  we  look 
over  into  space,  and  there  are  myriads,  and 
myriads,  and  myriads  of  miles  in  which  there 
appear  to  be  no  more  planets  belonging  to  the 
solar  system.  There  may  be  others  that  have 
not  been  discovered  yet;  but,  as  far  as  we 
know,  beyond  Neptune  there  is  a  great  gulf 
fixed. 

There  are,  however,  what  I  may  call  "  1  cap- 
ers "  in  the  system,  which,  without  the  use  of 
a  pole,  are  able  to  cross  this  gulf ;  they  are  The 
Comets.  These  comets  are,  as  a  rule,  so  thin 
— a  mere  filmy  mass  of  vapor — that  when  they 
come  flashing  into  our  system,  and  rushing 
out  again,  as  they  do,  tliey  never  disturb  the 
motion  of  a  planet.     And  there  are  some  ter- 


SCIENCES   AS   SOURCES   OF  ILLUSTRATION.   195 

restrial  comets  about,  that  I  know,  that  go  to 
various  towns,  and  blaze  away  for  a  time ;  but 
they  have  no  power  to  disturb  the  planets  re- 
volving there  in  their  regular  course.  The 
power  of  a  man  does  not  consist  in  rushing  to 
and  fro,  like  a  comet,  but  in  steadily  shining 
year  after  year,  like  a  fixed  star.  The  astron- 
omer Halley  says :  "  If  you  were  to  condense  a 
comet  down  to  the  thickness  of  the  ordinary 
atmosphere,  it  would  not  fill  a  square  inch  of 
space."  So  thin  is  a  comet  that  you  might 
look  through  five  thousand  miles  of  it,  and  see 
just  as  easily  as  if  it  were  not  there.  It  is  well 
to  be  transparent,  brethren ;  but  I  hope  you 
will  be  more  substantial  than  most  of  the 
comets  of  which  we  have  heard. 

Comets  come  with  great  regularity,  though 
they  seem  to  be  very  irregular.  Halley  proph- 
esied that  the  comet  of  1682,  of  which  little 
had  been  previously  known,  would  return  at 
regular  intervals  of  about  seventy-five  years. 
He  knew  that  he  would  not  live  to  see  its  re- 
appearance; but  he  expressed  the  hope  that 
when  it  did  return  his  prophecy  might  be  re- 
membered. Various  astronomers  were  looking 
out  for  it,  and  they  hoped  it  might  arrive  at 
the  time  foretold,  because,  otherwise,  ignorant 
people  would  not  believe  in  astronomy.  But 
the  comet  came  back  all  right ;  so  their  minds 


196  THE   ART   OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

were  set  at  rest,  and  Halley's  prediction  was 
verified. 

Among  the  stories  concerning  comet- watch- 
ing, there  is  one  that  contains  an  illustration 
and  a  lesson  also.  "  Messier,  who  had  acquired 
the  name  of '  the  comet-hunter,'  from  the  num- 
ber he  discovered,  was  particularly  anxious 
upon  the  occasion.  Of  great  simplicity  of 
character,  his  zeal  after  comets  was  often  dis- 
played in  the  oddest  manner.  While  attend- 
ing the  death-bed  of  his  wife,  and  necessarily 
absent  from  his  observatory,  the  discovery  of 
one  was  snatched  from  him  by  Montaigne  de 
Limoges.  This  was  a  grievous  blow.  A  visi- 
tor began  to  offer  him  consolation  on  account 
of  his  recent  bereavement,  when  Messier, 
thinking  only  of  the  comet,  answered,  ^  I  had 
discovered  twelve;  alas,  to  be  robbed  of  the 
thirteenth  by  that  Montaigne ! '  But  instantly 
recollecting  himself,  he  exclaimed,  '  Ah !  cette 
pauvre  femme ! '  and  went  on  deploring  wife 
and  comet  together."  He  evidently  lived  so 
much  in  the  heavens  that  he  forgot  his  wife ; 
and  if  science  can  sometimes  carry  a  man  away 
from  all  the  trials  of  this  mortal  life,  surely 
our  heavenly  life  ought  to  lift  us  up  above  all 
the  distractions  and  cares  that  afflict  us. 

The  return  of  a  comet  is  frequently  an- 
nounced with  great  certainty.    This  paragraph 


SCIENCES   AS   SOURCES   OF   ILLUSTRATION.   197 

appeared  in  a  newspaper :  "  On  the  whole,  it 
may  be  considered  as  tolerably  certain  that 
the  comet  will  become  visible  in  every  part  of 
Europe  about  the  latter  end  of  August,  or  the 
beginning  of  September  next.  It  will  most 
probably  be  distinguishable  by  the  naked  eye, 
like  a  star  of  the  first  magnitude,  but  with  a 
duller  light  than  that  of  a  planet,  and  sur- 
rounded with  a  pale  nebulosity,  which  will 
slightly  impair  its  splendor.  On  the  night  of 
the  7th  of  October  the  comet  will  approach  the 
well-known  constellation  of  the  Great  Bear; 
and  between  that  and  the  11th  it  will  pass 
directly  through  the  seven  conspicuous  stars 
of  that  constellation.  Toward  the  close  of 
November  the  comet  will  plunge  among  the 
rays  of  the  sun  and  disappear,  and  not  issue 
from  them,  on  the  other  side,  until  the  end  of 
December.  This  prospectus  of  the  movements 
of  a  body,  invisible  at  the  time,  millions  of 
miles  away,  is  nearly  as  definite  as  the  early 
advertisements  of  coaching  between  London 
and  Edinburgh.  Let  us  now  place  the  obser- 
vations of  the  eye  alongside  the  anticipations 
of  science,  and  we  shall  find  that  science  has 
proved  almost  absolutely  correct." 

Just  think  of  the  calculations,  gentlemen, 
that  were  necessary ;  for,  though  a  comet  does 
not  interfere  with  the  course  of  a  planet,  a 


198  THE  ART  OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

planet  interferes  very  considerably  with  the 
course  of  a  comet;  so  that,  in  their  calcula- 
tions, the  astronomers  had  to  recollect  the 
track  in  which  the  comet  would  have  to  travel. 
Thinking  of  him  as  a  way-worn  traveler,  we 
remember  that  he  will  have  to  go  by  Neptune's 
bright  abode,  and  Neptune  will  be  sure  to  give 
him  a  cup  of  tea ;  then  he  will  journey  on  as 
far  as  Uranus,  and  put  up  for  the  night  there ; 
in  the  morning  he  will  pay  an  early  visit  to 
Saturn,  and  he  will  stay  there  for  breakfast ; 
he  will  dine  with  Jupiter ;  by  and  by  he  will 
reach  Mars,  and  there  will  be  sure  to  be  a  row 
there;  and  he  will  be  glad  when  he  gets  to 
Venus,  and,  of  course,  he  will  be  detained  by 
her  charms.  You  will,  therefore,  very  readily 
see,  gentlemen,  that  the  calculations  as  to  the 
return  of  a  comet  are  extremely  difficult,  and 
yet  the  astronomers  do  estimate  the  time  to  a 
nicety.  This  science  is  a  very  marvelous  one, 
not  only  for  what  it  reveals,  but  for  the  talent 
which  it  brings  out,  and  the  lessons  it  contin- 
ually teaches  us  about  the  wonderful  works  of 
our  great  Father. 

We  have  done  with  the  solar  system,  and 
even  with  those  interlopers  which  come  to  us 
every  now  and  then  from  far  remote  systems, 
for  a  comet,  I  suppose,  is  only  seen  for  a  month, 
or  a  week,  and  then  sometimes  does  not  reap- 


SCIENCES   AS   SOURCES   OF  ILLUSTRATION.   199 

pear  for  hundreds  of  years.  Where  have  they 
gone  all  that  while?  Well,  they  have  gone 
somewhere,  and  they  are  serving  the  purpose 
of  the  God  who  made  them,  I  dare  say ;  but, 
for  my  own  part,  I  would  not  like  to  be  a 
comet  in  God's  system.  I  would  like  to  have 
my  fixed  place,  and  keep  on  shining  for  the 
Lord  there.  I  have  lived  in  London  for  a  good 
many  years,  and  I  have  seen  many  comets 
come  and  go  during  that  time.  Oh,  the  great 
lights  I  have  seen  rush  by !  They  have  gone 
off  into  some  unknown  sphere,  as  comets 
usually  do.  I  have  generally  noticed  that, 
when  men  are  going  to  do  so  much  more  than 
everybody  else,  and  they  are  so  amazingly 
pompous  over  it,  their  history  is  usually  pretty 
accurately  described  by  that  simple  simile  of 
going  up  like  a  rocket  and  coming  down  like  a 
stick. 

I  do  not  know  whether  you  can,  in  imagina- 
tion, lean  over  the  battlements  of  this  little 
solar  system,  and  see  what  there  is  beyond  it. 
Do  not  narrow  your  minds,  gentlemen,  to  a  few 
hundred  millions  of  miles !  If  you  look  out 
for  a  long  way  indeed,  you  will  begin  to  see  a 
star  I  should  only  be  uttering  meaningless 
words  if  I  told  you  its  distance  from  us ;  yet 
there  are  others,  of  those  that  we  are  able  to 


200  THE   AKT   OF   ILLUSTRATION. 

see,  that  are  almost  im»ieasurably  farther 
away.  They  have  taken  a  deal  of  trouble  to 
Send  us  a  ray  of  light  such  a  vast  distance,  to 
inform  us  that  they  are  getting  on  very  well, 
and  that,  though  they  are  at  such  a  distance 
from  us,  they  still  enjoy  themselves  as  best  they 
can  in  our  absence. 

These  stars,  as  the  common  people  look  at 
them,  seem  to  be  scattered  about  in  the  heav- 
ens, as  we  say,  "  anyhow."  I  always  admire 
that  charming  variety ;  and  I  am  thankful  to 
God  that  he  has  not  set  the  stars  in  straight 
lines,  like  rows  of  street-lamps.  Only  think, 
brethren,  how  it  would  be  if  we  looked  up  at 
night,  and  saw  the  stars  all  arranged  in  rows, 
like  pins  on  a  paper !  Bless  the  Lord,  it  is  not 
so !  He  just  took  a  handful  of  bright  worlds, 
and  scattered  them  about  the  sky,  and  they 
dropped  into  most  beautiful  positions,  so  that 
people  say,  ^'  There  is  the  Great  Bear ;  "  and, 
"  That  is  Charles's  Wain,"  and  every  country- 
man knows  the  Reaping-hook.  Have  you  not 
seen  it,  brethren?  Others  say,  "That  is  the 
Virgin,  and  that  is  the  Eam,  and  that  is  the 
Bull,"  and  so  on. 

I  think  that  naming  of  the  various  constel- 
lations is  very  like  a  good  deal  of  mystical 
preaching  that  there  is  nowadays.  The  preach- 
ers say,  "  That  is  so-and-so,  and  that  is  so-and- 


SCIENCES   AS   SOURCES   OF  ILLUSTRATION.  201 

SO."  Well,  perhaps  it  is  so ;  but  I  do  not  see 
it.  You  may  imagine  anything  you  like  in 
the  constellations  of  the  heavens.  I  have  pic 
tured  a  fortress  in  the  fire,  and  watched  it  be> 
ing  built  up,  and  seen  little  soldiers  come  and 
pull  it  all  down.  You  can  see  anything  in  the 
fire,  and  in  the  sky,  and  in  the  Bible,  if  you 
like  to  look  for  it  in  that  way ;  you  do  not  see 
it  in  reality,  it  is  only  a  freak  of  your  imagi- 
nation. There  are  no  bulls  and  bears  in  the 
heavens.  There  may  be  a  virgin,  but  she  is 
not  to  be  worshiped  as  the  Romanists  teach. 
I  hope  you  all  know  the  pole-star ;  you  ought 
also  to  know  the  pointers ;  they  point  to  the 
pole-star,  and  that  is  just  what  we  ought  to  do, 
to  direct  the  poor  slaves  of  sin  and  Satan  to 
the  true  Star  of  liberty,  our  Lord  and  Saviour, 
Jesus  Christ. 

Then  there  are  the  Pleiades ;  almost  anybody 
can  tell  you  where  they  are.  They  are  a  cluster 
of  apparently  little  stars,  but  they  are  intensely 
bright.  They  teach  me  that,  if  I  am  a  very 
little  man,  I  must  try  to  be  very  bright ;  if  I 
cannot  be  like  Aldebaran,  or  some  of  the 
brightest  gems  of  the  sky,  I  must  be  as  bright 
as  I  can  in  my  own  particular  sphere,  and  be 
as  useful  there  as  if  I  were  a  star  of  the  first 
magnitude.  Then,  on  the  other  side  of  the 
globe,  they  look  up  to  the  Southern  Cross.     I 


202  THE  ART   OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

dare  say  one  of  our  brethren  from  Australia 
will  give  you  a  private  lecture  upon  that  con- 
stellation. It  is  very  beautiful  to  think  of  the 
Cross  being  the  guide  of  the  mariner ;  it  is  the 
best  guide  any  one  can  have,  either  this  side 
of  the  tropics  or  the  other. 

Besides  the  stars,  there  are  vast  luminous 
bodies  which  are  called  Nebula.  In  some 
parts  of  the  heavens  there  are  enormous 
masses  of  light-matter;  they  were  supposed 
by  some  to  be  the  material  out  of  which  worlds 
were  made.  These  were  the  lumps  of  mortar, 
out  of  which,  according  to  the  old  atheistic 
theory,  worlds  grew  by  some  singular  process 
of  evolution ;  but  when  Herschel  turned  his 
telescope  upon  them,  he  very  soon  put  the 
nose  of  that  theory  out  of  joint,  for  he  dis- 
covered that  these  nebulae  were  simply  enor- 
mous masses  of  stars,  such  myriads  upon  myr- 
iads of  miles  away  that,  to  our  sight,  they 
looked  just  like  a  little  dust  of  light. 

There  are  many  wonderful  things  to  be 
learned  about  the  stars,  to  which  I  hope  you 
will  give  your  earnest  attention  as  you  have 
the  opportunity.  Among  the  rest  is  this  fact, 
that  some  stars  have  ceased  to  be  visible  to  us. 
Tycho  Brahe  said  that  on  one  occasion  he  found 


SCIENCES   AS   SOURCES   OF   ILLUSTRATION.  203 

a  number  of  villagers  looking  up  at  the  sky ; 
and  on  asking  them  why  they  were  gazing  at 
the  heavens,  they  told  him  that  a  new  star  had 
suddenly  appeared.  It  shone  brightly  for  a 
few  months,  and  then  vanished.  Many  times 
a  starry  world  has  seemed  to  turn  red,  as  if  it 
were  on  fire;  it  has  apparently  burned,  and 
blazed  away,  and  then  disappeared.  Kepler, 
writing  concerning  such  a  phenomenon,  says : 
"  What  it  may  portend  is  hard  to  determine ; 
and  thus  much  only  is  certain,  that  it  comes 
to  tell  mankind  either  nothing  at  all,  or  high 
and  weighty  news,  quite  beyond  human  sense 
and  understanding."  In  allusion  to  the  opin- 
ions of  some,  who  explained  the  novel  object 
by  the  Epicurean  doctrine  of  a  fortuitous  com- 
bination of  atoms,  he  remarks,  with  character- 
istic oddity,  yet  good  sense,  '^  I  will  tell  these 
disputants—my  opponents — not  my  opinion, 
but  my  wife's.  Yesterday,  when  weary  with 
writing,  and  my  mind  quite  dusty  with  con- 
sidering these  atoms,  I  was  called  to  supper, 
and  a  salad  that  I  had  asked  for  was  set  before 
me.  ^It  seems,  then,'  said  I  aloud,  Hhat  if 
pewter  dishes,  leaves  of  lettuce,  grains  of  salt, 
drops  of  water,  vinegar,  and  oil,  and  slices  of 
egg,  had  been  flying  about  in  the  air  from  all 
eternity,  it  might  at  last  happen,  by  chance, 
that  there  would  come  a  salad.'     *  Yes,'  says 


204  THE  ART   OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

my  wife,  ^  but  not  one  so  nice  or  well  dressed 
as  this  which  I  have  made  for  you.' " 

So  I  should  think ;  and  if  the  fortuitous  com- 
bination of  atoms  could  not  make  a  salad,  it  is 
not  very  likely  that  they  could  make  a  world. 
I  once  asked  a  man  who  said  that  the  world 
was  a  fortuitous  concourse  of  atoms,  "Have 
you  ever  chanced  to  have  no  money,  and  to  be 
away  where  you  knew  nobody  who  would  give 
you  a  dinner!"  He  replied,  "Yes,  I  have." 
"  Well,  then,"  said  I,  "  did  it  ever  happen  to 
you  that  a  fortuitous  concourse  of  atoms  made 
a  leg  of  mutton  for  you,  with  some  nice  boiled 
turnips,  and  caper  sauce,  for  your  dinner?" 
"No,"  he  said,  "it  has  not."  ^"Well,"  I  an- 
swered, "a  leg  of  mutton,  at  any  rate,  even 
with  turnips  and  caper  sauce  included,  is  an 
easier  thing  to  make  than  one  of  these  worlds, 
like  Jupiter  or  Venus." 

We  are  told,  in  the  Word  of  God,  that  one 
star  differeth  from  another  star  in  glory ;  yet 
one  that  is  small  may  give  more  light  to  us 
than  a  larger  star  which  is  farther  away.  Some 
stars  are  what  is  called  variable,  they  appear 
larger  at  one  time  than  another.  Algol,  in  the 
head  of  Medusa,  is  of  this  kind.  We  are  told 
that  "  the  star,  at  the  brightest,  appears  of  the 
second  magnitude,  and  remains  so  for  about 
two  days,  fourteen  hours.     Its  light  then  di- 


SCIENCES   AS   SOUKCES   OF   ILLUSTRATION.    205 

minishes,  and  so  rapidly  that  in  three  and  a  half 
hours  it  is  reduced  to  the  fourth  magnitude. 
It  wears  this  aspect  rather  more  than  fifteen 
minutes,  then  increases,  and  in  three  and  a 
half  hours  more  resumes  its  former  appear- 
ance." I  am  afraid  that  many  of  us  are  vari- 
able stars ;  if  we  do  sometimes  wax  dim,  it  will 
be  well  if  we  regain  our  brightness  as  quickly 
as  Algol  does.  Then  there  are  thousands  of 
double  stars.  I  hope  that  you  will  each  get  a 
wife  who  will  always  shine  with  you,  and  never 
eclipse  you,  for  a  double  star  may  be  very 
bright  at  one  time,  and  sometimes  be  eclipsed 
altogether.  There  are  also  triple  stars,  or  sys- 
tems, and  quadruple  systems,  and  there  are,  in 
some  cases,  hundreds  or  thousands  all  spinning 
round  one  another,  and  around  their  central 
luminaries.  Wonderful  combinations  of  glory 
and  beauty  may  be  seen  in  the  stellar  sky ;  and 
some  of  these  stars  are  i-ed,  some  blue,  some 
yellow ;  all  the  colors  of  the  rainbow  are  repre- 
sented in  them.  It  would  be  very  wonderful 
to  live  in  one  of  them,  and  to  look  across  the 
sky,  and  see  all  the  glories  of  the  heavens  that 
God  has  made.  On  the  whole,  however,  for 
the  present,  I  am  quite  content  to  abide  upon 
this  little  planet,  especially  as  I  am  not  able 
to  change  it  for  another  home,  until  God  so 
wills  it. 


SUNDAY-SCHOOL  AS  AN  INSTITUTION,  What  Shall  We  Do 
With  The— By  George  Lansing  Taylor,  O.D.  Fourth 
edition.  Square  16nio,  cloth,  30  cents.  Paper.  20 
cents. 

THE  CENTRAL  METHODIST  says:  "This  is  the  clearest 
and  most  yigorous  protestation  of  the  whole  Sunday-School 
question  in  a  nutshell  we  have  seen.  It  is  a  work  that  ought 
to  be  in  the  hands  of  all  preachers,  since  its  practical  treatment 
of  the  difficulties  of  our  present  system,  and  the  proper  remedy 
to  be  applied  make  it  valuable  to  them." 

PREACHER'S  MAGAZINE,  THE.-Edited  by  Revs.  Mark  Guy 
Pearse  and  Arthur  E.  Gregory.  Published  Monthly, 
$1.50  per  year.  Single  copy,  15  cents.  No  free 
samples.  Bound  volumes,  net  $2.50.  Cloth  covers, 
for  binding  net,  35  cents. 

REV.  C.  H.  SPURGEON  says:  "This  unpretentious 
magazine  is  as  good  as  the  very  best  of  its  homiletical  com- 
peers. It  goes  straight  to  the  point,  making  no  big  pretences 
of  learning  and  eloquence,  it  goes  in  for  practical  suggestions, 
which  will  be  really  useful  to  men  who  are  laboring  to  win 
souls.  Although  we  are  by  this  time  able  to  run  alone,  and 
make  sermons  without  the  aid  of  homiletics,  yet  we  like  such 
magazines  as  these,  and  feel  helped  by  looking  them  through. 
Each  number  is  a  capital  return  for  the  money." 

GREAT  THOUGHTS  OF  THE  BIBLE.By  Rev.  John  Reid.  12mo. 
cloth,  318  pp.    $1.50. 

The  author  has  just  gone  far  enough  in  the  subject  not  to 
he  tiresome,  believing  that  compact  thought  is  the  want  of  the 
hour. 

THE  NEW  YORK  CHRISTIAN  ADVOCATE  says:  "Itisabook 
that  has  come  to  stay  because  there  are  elements  of  power  in  it. " 

THE  CHRISTIAN  AT  WORK  says:  *' It  is  a  book  which  will 
not  only  add  to  the  intelligence  of  the  Christian,  but  invigorate 
and  strengthen  him  in  the  performance  of  all  Christian  duties." 


iVATURE  AND  THE  BIBLE ;  A  Course  of  Lectures  on  the  Morse 
Foundation  of  the  Union  Theological  Seminary.— By 
J.  W.  Dawson,  LL  D.  12nio.  cloth,  258  pp.  Illustrated. 
$1.75. 

THE  INTERIOR  says:  ''Professor  Dawson  discusses  his 
topic  from  the  various  standpoints  of  a  student  of  nature,  not 
from  the  single  standpoint  which  has  mostly  heen  occupied  by 
theologians.  The  book  is  not  a  partisan  publication.  It  will 
be  found  by  those  opposed  to  be  perfectly  candid  and  fair,  ad- 
mitting difficulties  in  their  full  force,  and  not  seeking  to  evade, 
misinterpret,  or  exaggerate  any  fact  or  argument." 

CONCESSIONS  OF  "LIBERALISTS"  TO  ORTHODOXY.-By 
Daniel  Oorchester,  0.0.    IZmo.  cloth,  344  pp.  $1.50. 

The  book  is  worthy  all  commendation  for  the  extensive 
research  shown  by  the  author  and  the  presentation  of  the  three 
cardinal  topics  :  The  Diety  of  Christ,  the  Atonement,  and  End- 
less Punishment. 

THE  WESTERN  CHRISTIAN  ADVOCATEsays  ;  "A  book  that 
should  be  in  every  minister's  library.  The  doctor's  style  is 
singularly  pure  and  candid,  and  the  diction  and  dignity, 
scholarship   and   research   is   manifest  in   every   page." 

QOSPEL  OF  COMMON  SENSE,  THE,  As  contained  In  the  Gan- 
nonical  Epistle  of  James— By  Charles  F.  Deems,  D.  D., 
LL.  D.    12mo.  cloth,  320  pp.    $1.50. 

JOSEPH  COOK  says  :  "Dr.  Deems  eminent  common  sense 
never  appeared  more  profitable  than  in  his  fresh,  incisive  and 
most  timely  discussion  of  St.  James'  Epistle  as  the  Gospel  of 
Common  Sense.  The  book  is  at  once  popular  and  scholarly, 
broad  and  deep,  radical  and  conservative." 

THEODORE  L  CUYLER,  D.  D  .  says:  "The  style  of  the 
book  i%  racy  and  most  readable.  It  ought  to  be  read  at  every 
■fireside  in  the  land.  May  the  Holy  Spirit  attend  and  bless  the 
^circulation  of  this  capital  volume." 


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